From Match to Marriage

6 Weeks- All Clear

2012-02-10T11:24:00.000-05:00

Today my baby boy is 6 weeks old! Holy God where is the time going?!

Six weeks marks a few things-

1. The end of my maternity leave next week- which I can't even talk about right now without tearing up.

2. My 6 week post partum checkup which went well. The doctor gave me the all clear to work out ~~again~~ and to do other "stuff" which made Kristian very happy even though my doctor told me I should mess with him and tell him that I still wasn't allowed to have any "mommy and daddy time" for another few weeks. He even wrote me a prescription to give to Kristian.

Yeah my doctor is pretty awesome and has a great sense of humor.

So now I can work on losing those last 12 pounds to get back to my pre-baby weight. I dropped about 25 pounds with no problem but now have seemed to held steady with this last little bit left to lost. I think the problem is that my appetite which I lost during pregnancy (still not sure how I gained 37 pounds) as well as no longer having the food aversions I had (I can actually eat chicken again without wanting to vomit) has made it harder to lose those last few pounds. Plus breastfeeding makes me SO hungry all the time. Hopefully if I actually start working out a bit that will help.

As for my little chunky monkey Hunter, he's doing great. Still eating like a champ. We haven't weighed him but I guarantee he's over 10 pounds by now. He's sleeping better for the most part but still has his bad nights where he just wants to eat every hour. He's awake more during the day and very alert with constant cooing and gurgling sounds. And he smiles A LOT! I don't care how sleep deprived I am when I see his little grin every morning I immediately forget how tired I am.

Here are some recent pictures:

This is the onesie I gave to Kristian when I told him I was pregnant. It's amazing we actually have a little person now that can wear it.

Smiling at the fact that he had kept mommy and daddy awake the night before.

Who could resist that smile?

My favorite part of the day, napping with my little dude.

Our Story

2012-02-09T15:14:00.000-05:00

I've seen this going around and decided to take a break from the baby posts to do something else.

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

We will have been together for 4 years this coming August

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

We met in August of 2008 via Match.com. I had just gotten back on after taking a bit of a break and Kristian was one of the first people who emailed me when I signed back on. I almost didn't respond because he was "geographically undesirable" but thankfully I overlooked that and took a chance. He says he had emailed me about 9 months earlier and I never responded (I don't remember this) but thank goodness he contacted me again. We had our first date at Bonefish Grille and were basically together ever since. He claims that for him it was love at first sight and he knew that night I was the one for him. It took me about a month before I "knew".

Our first picture together at a "CEO and Corporate Ho's party"

3. If married, how long have you been married?

We've been married for almost two years. We got married on May 22, 2010. We picked that date because it's a combination of our birthdays- Mine is May 12 and his is Oct. 22 hence May 22.

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?

We got married in Alexandria, VA at an event space that is also used as a church. We had planned on getting married out in the gardens but due to the rain we had to move the ceremony indoors. We had about 90 people at the wedding so it was on the smaller side but perfect for us.

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another?

I usually call him Baby (gag I know but it's habit now). When I'm referring to him in an email or text I call him "K".

He calls me "Miss Nay", "Mama Nay" or "MaNay"-- a few years ago his niece gave everyone in the family silly nicknames and mine was SheNayNay since my name is Shannon. Well it stuck and she and her siblings still call me Aunt SheNayNay. Well Kristian decided to shorten it to Miss Nay and then when I got pregnant I became Mama Nay and now when he really wants to shorten it he just calls me MaNay. I just hope Hunter doesn't call me that.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

-His kindness- from the beginning I said he was freakishly nice. He is always going out of his way for others and has treated me better than anyone ever has

-His sense of humor- He never fails to make me laugh

-He's an amazing father and nothing warms my heart more than watching him and our son

7. Tell us how he proposed?

About 6 months after we started dating (quick I know) on Valentine's Day he invited me to dinner at his condo. He had decorated his living room with flowers, streamers and balloons and made a fantastic dinner. After dinner we were listening to music and Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" came on (which was also our wedding song) and he left to get the ring in his bedroom, he came back got on one knee and proposed. I thought he was joking until I looked down and saw the ring. I think I said "Oh My God" about a dozen times before finally saying yes. He actually didn't plan to propose that night, he had wanted to wait until May when we were going to Jamaica but he said he couldn't wait any longer and just had to do it.

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

He's a make me dinner and propose kinda guy (see above). It's tradition now for him to recreate the dinner he made me the night he proposed for Vday.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

I'm definitely a relax on the couch kinda girl. I'm a total homebody though a dinner on the beach sounds pretty nice too.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

Well before I would have said have kids but now that we have a kid I guess I will say travel more. I would love to go to Europe one day. I also think it would be cool if we could own our own business and work from home (not sure what kind of business we would have though)

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

Probably nothing, we're too tired now with the baby to do a whole night and it will be my first day back at work *sad face*. However this Saturday we are going out for a date night.

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

Not at all. Honestly I keep forgetting that Vday is coming up. If I asked for anything it would be for him to watch the baby all night so I could sleep. HA! Priorities have really changed huh?

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Never take each other for granted, always remember to thank them even for small things (like taking out the trash). Tell them that you love them everyday (even if you're mad at them). Don't forget to show affection (this gets hard after having a baby but it's a must).

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

My family

Good friends make all the difference

2012-02-07T09:39:00.000-05:00

This past weekend my good friend Kristen flew up from Florida to visit me and Hunter (and Kristian I suppose). I haven't seen Kristen since my baby shower in October and typically we are only able to get together once or twice a year so it was wonderful to be able to spend a relaxing weekend together full of baby snuggles, wine (her not me), gossip and chick flicks on t.v.

I'm convinced that Kristen is the baby whisperer and Hunter is madly in love with her. I think he slept for about 4 hours straight on her chest on Saturday which gave me a chance to take a nap, eat with two hands, take a shower etc. The weather was pretty crappy Saturday so it was the perfect day to just stay on the couch and play with my cute little 10 pounder.

If I had enough money I would hire her to be my live in nanny.

Kristian also offered to watch the baby so that Kristen and I could go out for some Mexican on Saturday night and have a girly "date night". The best part was when Kristian called me 10 minutes after we left and said "He's been screaming since you left, can I feed him?" HAHA. Poor guy.

This weekend was exactly what this tired, overwhelmed mama needed. It's amazing what a little time with a good friend can do. Now we just have to plan our trip down to FL so that our little guys can meet.

Some Florida Sunshine

2012-02-02T11:52:00.000-05:00

See that pretty girl on the right in the white dress?

That's Kristen and she is flying up from sunny, warm Florida this weekend to visit me and Hunter in Northern VA, in the middle of winter, when there is about a 30 degree temperature difference.

This is also the same Kristen that helped throw my fabulous baby shower.

This is also the same Kristen that sent us a fabulous meal from Omaha Steaks after Hunter was born so that we wouldn't have to make dinner one night.

This is the same Kristen that gave me tons of advice and support during my whole pregnancy and now dealing with a newborn.

To say she's a good friend would be understatement!

I'm so excited to get to spend the weekend with one of my favorite people and I know Hunter is going to have a blast cuddling with such a pretty lady for 3 days. Have I mentioned that my son already loves the ladies? Because he does. He totally grab the boob of my brothers girlfriend the other night. Yep my kid has already gotten to second base. Sigh.

Answer-- Not anytime soon

2012-02-01T10:56:00.000-05:00

Question- When are you having another kid?

It amazes me how many people have already asked me when we're having another baby? I know Hunter is super cute and all, but seriously? Can we let the stitches from the first baby heal before we start working on baby #2? Hell I'm still not allowed to do the thing you need to do to even make a baby (which by the way is SUPER frustrating for us both) so my go to answer is "not anytime soon".

Now if you ask my husband's Uncle Stanley he's convinced I'll be pregnant again by Christmas. When he said this I wanted to physically smack some sense into him. Granted surprises happen all the time so while I sit here saying there is no way in hell I'll be pregnant again this coming Christmas who knows what God has in store for us.

Do Kristian and I want another child? Yes. Eventually. **Though last night while dealing with Hunter's EVERY. HOUR. wake up calls he did insist he was going in to get a vasectomy and that one child was enough** HA! I've always said that I would like to have two children, ideally a boy and a girl though if we end up with two boys that would be great as well. I think it would be great for Hunter to have a sibling to grow up with and have as a playmate. With that said I am in no hurry to go through the whole pregnancy/delivery/newborn/no sleep thing again anytime soon.

I was VERY lucky that I was able to get pregnant as easily as I did and that all things considered I had a relatively easy pregnancy. But I know that may not be the case next time. For all I know I may not be able to get pregnant again so easily (or at all). I may end up having a very rough pregnancy with complications. It's scary to think about. And even though my pregnancy was pretty smooth, I'm not gonna lie I HATED the first trimester and the last month. I don't do well with pain, discomfort and constant nausea.

And to be honest, I'm still a bit traumatized from the whole labor/delivery thing. I knew it wouldn't be easy and I knew it would be painful but I also didn't expect the epidural to hurt as badly as it did (one of the most painful things ever) or for the epidural to wear off and have to feel such painful contractions and even though I knew a C-section was a possibility I never expected to have to be knocked out during it and miss the birth of my child. And let's not even talk about having to deal with a baby being in NICU and having to leave the hospital without him. It was a painful, scary experience and I think it will be a while before I'm willing to go through it again.

So when I say "it will be a while" what does that mean? Well I suspect around 3 years or more. I really would like for Hunter to be a bit more independent and preferably potty trained before I have another baby in the house to care for. We also need to be in a good place financially to where we can either afford to have two kids in daycare or one of us can stay home.

So I wouldn't be expecting any baby announcements from me anytime in the near future, unless of course God thinks it would be funny to make me have a nervous breakdown.

One Month- 1/30/12

2012-01-30T11:37:00.000-05:00

Dear Hunter,

Today you are one month old. I cannot believe that one month ago I gave birth to the most perfect baby boy. In the month you've been here you've already brought so much joy to our lives. Your daddy and I love you so much and everyday thank God for blessing us with you.

The past month has been one of the most challenging and rewarding for us. We've never been so scared or worried as we were the first week after you were born and in the hospital but you came through like a champ and are growing and thriving everyday. Your doctor is so impressed with how well you are growing and how strong you are already. You already are able to hold your held up well and your little legs are so strong your daddy is convinced you'll be standing on your own in a few weeks (I told him it may be a little longer before that happens!)

Mommy and daddy haven't gotten much sleep the past month but waking up every morning to your sweet little face and seeing your little smiles makes the sleepless nights totally worth it. I spend my days staring in amazement at this incredible little person that your daddy and I created. Each day you show us more and more of your little personality. You are such a sweet baby and you love to be held and snuggled. So long as you have a full belly and a clean diaper you are a happy camper. You love to smile and make silly faces at your daddy. Not a day has gone by that you haven't made us smile and laugh and count our blessings for having you in our lives.

Here are some of your one month stats:

Weight- at 3 weeks you weighed 9lbs 7ozs, almost 2 pounds up from your birth weight. I suspect you're right at 10 pounds now.

Eating- you LOVE to eat and can easily chug a 4-5oz bottle. You eat every few hours and are doing well with nursing though you prefer the ease of bottle.

Sleep- you are slowly learning your days from nights. You are now staying awake more during the day and sleeping in 3 hour increments at night. There are still nights when you wake up every hour or take a long time to go back to sleep but it's getting better everyday. You don't really like to lay flat on your back or sleep in your bassinet. You much prefer to sleep in your pack n play or on the boppy and your favorite is to nap with mommy or daddy on the couch.

Clothes- You can still fit into some of your newborn clothes but are rapidly growing out of them. The 3 month clothes are still a tad too big. It already makes me sad to see that some of your clothes are too small already.

Favorites- You love reggae music. Anytime you get fussy we put on some reggae music and you almost immediately calm down. You also love your pacifier, or as you daddy likes to call it, your mute button. You love to lay on the boppy and stare at mommy during the day. You love riding in the carseat and immediately go to sleep when riding in the car. You are slowly learning to enjoy bath time.

One month pictures

We love you so much Hunter!

Love,

Mommy

More Newborn photos

2012-01-26T13:02:00.000-05:00

My friend Laura who took Hunter's newborn photos sent me a link to a slideshow with all the photos. I've posted the slideshow below showing all the beautiful pictures of my baby boy. I love them all and I'm tempted to wallpaper my house with these. The ones of Kristian and Hunter especially melt my heart. I couldn't love these two men anymore.

No more tail

2012-01-25T11:13:00.002-05:00

Kristian and I would always joke that the two wires that were connected to Hunter's chest and hung off his body and connected to his portable apnea monitor was his "tail". We always had to be mindful of the wires because if we pulled them loose this god-awful loud alarm would sound and scare the shit out of all of us. It made changing, feeding and just loving on Hunter more of a challenge and since we had to carry his portable monitor around with us we basically would just hang out in a small area of the living room or bedroom at all times. Hunter has only seen his own bedroom twice.

Well I'm happy to say after yesterday's doctor appointment Hunter's "tail" has been removed. After reading the print-out from the monitor which notes any breathing episodes that he may have had the doctor said he could be taken off the monitor. He didn't have any real breathing episodes, there were a few false positive alarms but nothing to worry about, which is fantastic news! Hunter is now a free man and I can't tell you how nice it's been to hold him without having to worry about his wires and be able to freely carry him around the house. So much worry and anxiety has now been lifted and our little boy is growing and thriving. He's also up to 9lbs 7ozs (holy chunky monkey!)

3 Weeks Old

2012-01-20T11:40:00.000-05:00

Today Hunter is 3 weeks old. I can't believe how fast time is flying and that he's almost a month old already!

3 weeks old

We took Hunter to his pediatrician appointment yesterday and he's already up to 9lbs 3ozs (he was 7lbs 12ozs at birth) so needless to say we have a little chunky monkey on our hands. As you can see from his weight gain this little boy LOVES to eat. I'm still doing a combo of breast feeding and pumping/bottle feeding and every now and then we'll give him a small bottle of formula-- mainly at night to help him sleep. The BF/pumping definitely is a time commitment, I'm having to do one or the other (and sometimes both) every 3ish hours or I feel like I have two boulders on my chest.

The doctor says he's looking great and developing well and we're hoping once we see the pulmonologist he'll be able to get off his apnea monitor. We were supposed to have seen that doctor yesterday but had to reschedule due to delays with Hunter's insurance.

We're still working on the whole sleeping at night thing. Overall he's doing much better but there are still nights (like Wednesday night) when he's up ALL NIGHT. We've started a nighttime routine which seems to be working a bit. We try to keep him awake for at least two hours before bed, then we'll move him upstairs, give him a big bottle, change him, swaddle him and either lay him in bed with us until he falls asleep or rock him to sleep. The whole routine can take up to an hour or more and he's usually asleep by 10:30pm. He then will typically wake up around 2am wanting to be fed again and then again around 5am. We've had relative success with this and hopefully with time he'll get more used to it.

The doctor explained that a lot of babies his age hate to sleep on their backs, and this seems to be the case with Hunter, he hates sleeping in his bassinet. He has no problem sleeping anywhere else so long as he's not flat on his back. The doctor said it was fine to let him sleep in his pack n play (which has a cradle part) or even in his car seat. My concern is that he'll never get used to sleeping flat on his back and will make the transition to the crib even harder, the doctor said that as he gets older he'll get better at sleeping on his back so hopefully it won't be an issue.

Last night in an attempt for both Kristian and I to get some sleep I stayed in the living on the couch while Hunter slept in the pack n play and Kristian stayed in our room so he could get a good nights sleep. Hunter actually slept great and only woke up once to eat and be changed.

Hunter has also been staying awake more during the day which is nice however it also means that I'm not able to rest as much or get as much done around the house because he's always wanting to be fed, changed or held. Fortunately, playing Reggae music still seems to settle him down when he gets fussy, it's actually amazing how well it calms him down.

As for me, the area where my incision was is still pretty tender and gets sore but other than that I feel pretty much back to normal. I still have a good 15 pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight but my belly pooch gets smaller by the day. It will be nice once I'm allowed to start exercising again. I have noticed that since having Hunter my right wrist has been killing me and it's even hard at times to pick him up because of it. I've read that there is such thing as pregnancy related carpal tunnel syndrome and I'm pretty sure that's what I have. I'm hoping it will go away on it's own, if not I plan to talk to my doctor about it at my 6 week checkup.

Newborn photo sneak peek

2012-01-18T11:52:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday we took Hunter to my girlfriend's house so she could do some newborn photos of him in her home studio. It's the same friend that did my maternity photos and as with my maternity photos I think she did an AMAZING job. She plans to send me a CD with all the photos from both sessions and I can't wait to see what other amazing shots she got. I have to say I think Hunter is a natural little model.

*I love the way my little man looks at me*

*His feet are so tiny in Kristian's hands*

*This is my favorite so far! I wanted a Christmas-y photo for my Christmas (week) baby and she even caught him when he was smiling!*

2 Weeks Old

2012-01-13T10:49:00.000-05:00

Today Hunter is two weeks old and it's been one week since we brought him home. In some ways it feels like he was born just yesterday and in others it feels like he's been here forever. This first week with him home has definitely been challenging.

I had my one week follow up appointment with my doctor so he could check my incision which looks great. He said I could increase my activity level, which is good since it's hard to be too lazy when you have a newborn. I had also lost 20 pounds in 12 days! The nurse was quite impressed. My belly seems to shrink daily and I'm slowly starting to look like my old self but with bigger boobs. Breastfeeding and living in a 3 story house where I go up and down the stairs a million times definitely helps.

I've been a bit of an emotional mess the last few days. Yesterday I broke down in tears over someone's facebook status (it was one of those "repost this if you love your mother" ones). Yeah seriously. I was lucky during my pregnancy that I wasn't super emotional and didn't cry much but boy is it hitting me now. I'm still struggling with the whole way the birth went down and get upset whenever I see someone have a baby on t.v. because I'm reminded of what I missed. I'll get over it eventually. I hope. And as with most new mothers I'm sure, I'm constantly questioning my abilities as a mother, especially at 1am when my kid has been crying for hours and nothing seems to help. Yeah, that's been almost every night this week. It's hard. But logically I know it's totally normal. Emotionally it's a different story.

Hunter has been doing well except for the whole having his days and nights mixed up. Tuesday night was awesome he slept in 3 hour stretches and would fall back asleep after being fed and changed no problem. However, every other night has been incredibly frustrating and tiring. We try to keep him awake for a few hours before bedtime, we feed him a big bottle, change and swaddle him and even play some music for him (he LOVES Bob Marley and Reggae) but so far it doesn't seem to be working at least not until around 1-3am when he finally wears himself out. Monday night I had a total breakdown and started crying because I felt like a horrible mother who couldn't soothe my child. Poor Kristian was stuck dealing with a crying wife and child. Have I mentioned my husband is a saint because he pretty much is.

Other than that Hunter is a great little kid (during the day). He's still eating like a little piglet and breastfeeding well and everyday a little bit more of his personality comes out. We have an appointment next week with a pulmonologist to see about getting him off this Apnea monitor.

If anyone has any advice for making this kid sleep at night I'm all ears.

Below are some more pictures and a cute video we took last night of Kristian making Hunter smile.

First mohawk!

Bright eyes.

My two most favorite people.

Hunter Kristian

2012-01-12T12:28:00.000-05:00

Since we decided to keep Hunter's name a surprise until he was born I never did write about how we chose the name. I wrote before about how Kristian initially wanted to name Hunter after himself, more specifically he wanted to name him Kristian, he didn't really care if he had the same middle name. You see, the name Kristian has been passed down now through three generations, it's my husbands first name and his father and grandfather's middle name. I was opposed to using it as a first name because I didn't want there to be constant confusion between my husband and son (Kristian also goes by Kris so even if we used the nickname there would still be confusion). Knowing how much it meant to him to have Kristian as a part of his son's name I agreed to use it as a middle name which made him happy.

As for the name Hunter, well it's actually the one name we discussed long before I ever got pregnant. I remember seeing or hearing the name somewhere and thinking to myself "that would a fitting name if we ever have a son" (for those that don't know my husband LOVES to hunt and fish) but since this was back when the thought of having a child still freaked him out I just kept it to myself. Well literally a few days later Kristian randomly breaks out with "So I heard a really cool name to use if we ever have a son...Hunter". I couldn't believe it.

When I first got pregnant, in the very early days, I did feel like the baby was a boy (though thanks to all the old wives tales and signs I later convinced myself the baby was a girl) and I just automatically envisioned his name being Hunter. Well after we agreed on the middle name we went back and forth over and over again on the first name and the one name we kept coming back to and ultimately could agree on was Hunter. It just seemed to fit.

I'll be honest, Hunter is not my favorite boy name, there are several others that I actually prefer however when I tried to envision this child with any of those names it just felt wrong. He was a Hunter even before he was created.

Fortunately we've gotten a lot of positive feedback on his name from both sides of our families, everyone seems to really love it and think it fits him perfectly and I can't help but agree.

The first few days

2012-01-09T15:12:00.000-05:00

We have now had Hunter home for four days and he's been doing great! On Friday we did our CPR and monitor training class along with both my mother and Kristian's mother since both will be babysitting at times. It was very informative and I feel much more secure having done both. We got home later that afternoon and he slept most of the day which we knew was probably a mistake but he was so cute we couldn't wake him.

The first night was rough and pretty sleepless but that was to be expected. Little guy has his days and nights mixed up so we're working on that. My mom came on Saturday to stay for the weekend and having her here was a huge help. We were able to get some sleep Saturday and Sunday night while she stayed with him in the living room and it was nice for Hunter to get some grandma bonding time.

This morning we took him to his first baby doctor appointment and he's already gained close to a pound in 12 days which doesn't surprise me because Hunter is an eater! He's already chugging 4ozs or more every 3ish hours. He did so well at the doctor, he didn't fuss or cry and the doc said he looks great.

As for the monitor, it's gone off a few times but due to his wires coming loose or us forgetting to plug it back in and the battery dying (which happened the first night and the alarm went off at 1am, awesome.) I believe he did have one brief breathing incident this morning but he was able to correct himself so the alarm only went off for a second. We're really hoping he'll be off this monitor soon because it's a pain having to constantly be mindful of the wires and carry this thing around with us.

I've been feeling much better, still sore but I'm able to move around much better and needing less pain medicine. I've also finally started to lose weight thanks to all the breastfeeding/pumping. When I left the hospital I was so swollen I still looked 6 months pregnant. Now I look maybe 4 months pregnant :) But I've lost around 15 of the 35 pounds I gained.

Here's a picture of me today, still a bit of a belly but my boobs have gotten much bigger so that's a plus! I'm still wearing maternity pants because my regular ones cut right where my incision is.

Here I was at 39 weeks

Here are some pictures from when we brought Hunter home and this weekend including his first bath at home which he did NOT enjoy!

About to leave the hospital...FINALLY!

He's so teeny in his big car seat.

Slept the whole way home.

Testing out his pack n play

Moxie LOVES her little brother. She's so protective of him and runs to him whenever he cries or anyone gets near him so won't take her eyes off him. It's really sweet.

I kept joking that I was giving birth to a Moxie and as you can see I wasn't that far off, they are about the same size.

Kristian with his sister and nieces and nephew who all love their new little cousin.

Snuggling with grandma

His first bath. Not a fan.

So fresh and so clean.

I'm not gonna lie being a parent is hard and tiring but so worth it everytime I look into this little guys eyes. We are so in love.

Coming Home

2012-01-05T21:43:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow we will celebrate Hunter's one week birthday by bringing him home from the hospital!!!!

He has done so well this week and even though he still has one of his breathing episodes a day they are very minor and the doctor feels comfortable sending him home on a monitor knowing that this is something he should grow out of soon. So tomorrow morning we will get trained in CPR and then on how to use the monitor he will be on and bring him home!

It's been a tough few days running back and forth to the hospital twice a day for a few hours at a time to nurse and just visit with him. The nurses have been absolute angels and I don't know what we would have done without them. We plan to send them a huge bouquet of flowers to thank them next week.

I'm so excited to get our little guy home tomorrow so we can just spend all weekend staring and snuggling with him. My mom will also be coming to stay for the weekend to help. I've been feeling much better as well, still very sore but better.

Here are some of the pictures from this past week.

His first photo

Daddy holding him for the first time.

The first time I got to see Hunter, I was barely awake.

Waiting in the recovery room while they sewed me up.

In the recovery room.

My mom meeting her grandson for the first time.

So happy with my boy.

Snuggling a few hours after he was born.

One day old in the NICU. Poor baby full of wires.

Daddy is in love.

Visiting him for the first time in the NICU

Midnight on New Years Eve.

Grandma holding Hunter for the first time.

When my mom and I got back from visiting Hunter this is what we found, guess Kristian was tired.

Celebrating that he had gotten most of his wires removed.

Three generations

Finally free of all the tubes and wires.

Visiting with his other grandma.

My sleepy angel boy

Perfection.

Love those eyes.

The Birth Story- Part 3- Hunter

2012-01-03T22:24:00.004-05:00

On Saturday morning after spending the night in the room with us, Hunter was taken to the nursery for his morning exam. After being gone for a while the nurse finally came back and told us that he had some issues with his temperature being low and also some breathing problems and they had taken him to the NICU for further evaluation. After what felt like forever a doctor from NICU finally came back to tell us that he was having some breathing problems and they wanted to keep him in the NICU for more observation.

The first time going to the NICU and seeing our little boy with a bunch of wires coming out of him was incredibly hard. It's not something any parent wants to see. We were both so scared but the doctors and nurses in the NICU are incredible and were very reassuring about Hunter's prognosis.

To make a long story short Hunter has been having issues with coordinating his breathing with his sucking reflex. Basically, there are times when he will be sucking on a pacifier, or a bottle or even when he cries really hard and he'll just forget to breathe. It's a coordination thing that all babies develop (preferably right away) but for some, like Hunter, it takes a bit longer. They ran tests, did Xrays and even another Echo and everything is perfect. The doctor keeps stressing that he's not a sick baby, he's perfectly healthy, it comes down to a developmental issue with his breathing.

They have no doubt that he will be fine and eventually won't have any issues with his breathing at all but it may take some time. Everyday he has progressively gotten better and has now had all of his wires and tubes removed other than the few they have attached to him for monitoring. He's been eating like a champ which is also a great sign. I've been able to breast feed him as well as pump and give him some formula to help supplement while waiting for my milk to come in. He's done very well at breast feeding so far and we were able to spend a lot of time with him in the hospital.

Unfortunately when we were discharged today Hunter was not able to come home with us. They decided to keep him for another day or two for observation and then hopefully he'll be able to come home, most likely with a monitor so that we can keep a better eye on his breathing. I can't tell you how hard it is to leave the hospital without your baby, again it's something no parent should have to experience. But we know he's in great hands and want to make sure he's 100% ready before bringing him home.

We are trying to look at the positives, which are that it gives me a few extra days to recover and get everything put away at home and focus solely on bringing him on whatever day that may be. We will be going to the hospital everyday he's there, multiple times a day to continue to help with his feedings and just to visit. I'm praying he'll be home by this weekend.

So needless to say the delivery and recovery are far from what I expected, even going in with a pretty open mind. It's been tough but completely worth it in the end to get our sweet baby boy and it really has brought Kristian and I even closer together which I didn't think was possible.

The Birth Story- Part 2- Recovery

2012-01-03T21:49:00.000-05:00

After we were moved to our post partum room I was still feeling very groggy and drowsy from the anesthesia. We had a nurse come in to go over post partum information and see how I was feeling as well as go over what we would need to do for Hunter since he was staying with us that night, I could barely keep my eyes open or focus on what she was saying. The whole thing is a big haze to me.

I was able to hold Hunter a bit and wanted to breast feed but felt so nauseous and actually threw up a few times thanks to the anesthesia and all the medicine that had been pumped into my body. Let me tell you throwing up after a Csection is one of the worst feelings, your stomach already is in so much pain and throwing up just adds to it. Even the Zofran didn't really help much. Because of this Kristian had to give Hunter his first bottle and change his first diaper all while I just laid there. I felt like the worst mother in the world, not only had I missed my child's birth but now couldn't even help care for him.

It was a rough night and neither of us slept much, I was in so much pain and Kristian had to get Hunter every time he cried. Looking back it would have been smarter to just have him in the nursery but we wanted him close by.

My recovery in general has been slow, when people say that recovering from a Csection is hard they are not joking. For me, I was very nauseous from the medicine for two days and getting out of bed for the first time was one of the most painful experiences. Thanks to the Motrin and Percocet I've been able to function and I'm slowly starting to feel better but it was really rough the first few days doing the smallest things or moving in anyway.

I have to give Kristian so much credit, I honestly couldn't have made it through this recovery the past few days without him. He has helped me with EVERYTHING, even the grossest things like going to the bathroom or helping me change my pads or helping me use the breast pump. He's definitely lived up to the whole "for better or worse, in sickness and in health" part of the wedding vows. I really don't know how women do it when they don't have a such supportive partners.

I also have to give a lot of credit to my doctor and all the nurses that helped me in the hospital. Everyone was really amazing and helped me so much in my recovery. I feel much better now but still have a long way to go until I'm back to normal.

I will write about what's going on with Hunter in Part 3.

The Birth Story- Part 1

2012-01-02T15:11:00.001-05:00

*super long post ahead*

Hunter's delivery into the world wasn't quite as smooth as I had hoped. I should start by saying that I never really had a strict birth plan in place, my birth plan was to have the baby in the safest and preferably least painful way possible. Ideally I wanted a vaginal birth but knew that a Csection could happen and ultimately if that's what needed to be done I was fine with that. Both my doctor and delivery nurse said it's better to keep an open mind because if things don't go the way you hope you are less likely to be disappointed and upset afterwards. I also have to say from the start that I love my doctor and my delivery nurse was awesome. I can't imagine going through what I did with anyone else.

So on Thursday night I went to the hospital to get the Prostin Gel put in to help me start dilating on my own. I was still only 1cm and 90% effaced. I got released an hour later and that night was rough. I had a LOT of cramping and backache and got very little sleep.

Friday morning we got to the hospital around 7:30 and immediately got put into a room and got the IV started. I was only about 2cm dilated at that point. They started the Pitocin around 8am and I started having more contractions but nothing too unbearable. Around 9:30 they came in to do the epidural so that they could break my water and turn up the Pitocin and keep things moving while keeping me comfortable. The epidural HURT! Holy God did it hurt, both when it got put in and then feeling the medicine run up and down my back. The anesthesiologist decided not to wait for the Local to take effect and I was in so much pain. Poor Kristian almost passed out, according to our nurse, the epidural is when most fathers go down for the count. It was the first time he had seen me in true pain and just couldn't handle it.

After the epidural was in I couldn't stop shaking for a good half hour but they were able to insert the catheter (which didn't hurt and is pretty awesome, I didn't have to get out of bed to pee for two days) and they broke my water where they discovered the baby had already pooped and there was meconium inside me. Finally I got to the point where I felt nice and numb all over and didn't feel most of the contractions. Ironically enough we ended up watching "Knocked Up" which was on t.v. Fitting eh? I progressed quickly and around 6-7cm I could really feel the contractions again, they kept increasing the epidural but for some reason it wasn't working in the one area I needed it to. My mom and brother were with me as well and helping me breathe through each contraction. They finally got the dosage right and I was able to relax and even doze off a bit.

Right around 3:30-4pm they discovered that my temperature had spiked to 103! They gave me some antibiotics but they couldn't get the temp to come down and Hunter's heart rate kept rising. The doctor checked me again and I was 9 1/2 cm, he had me do some practice pushes to see if I could get to 10cm but unfortunately I just wasn't ready yet and he couldn't wait any longer, he had to take the baby out so as not to risk any damage to him from my fever (he doesn't know why I had such a high fever, it was very unusual). So he told me we really had to do a Csection for the safety of the baby. I was pretty upset, after all that time and the painful contractions I hated that I had to have a Csection but knew that was what needed to be done.

They got me all prepped in the room and Kristian came in right next to me. The doctor started the procedure and asked me at every stage if I felt anything, for the most part I just felt some pulling and pressure which was normal. However, the last thing I remember was saying I felt a little prick. Apparently when he got to my bladder the epidural hadn't really kicked in on those nerves and I could actually feel some of the pain (again very unusual and he doesn't know why that happened). Supposedly I started saying "Ow Ow Ow" and the anesthesiologist had to knock me out (I don't remember saying Ow or feeling the pain on my bladder). The next thing I remember was waking up and Kristian holding a baby up next to my face.

Soooo I missed the birth of my son. I missed his first cry. I missed when the doctor held him up. And I missed seeing Kristian's reaction to seeing his son for the very first time (which was one of the things I looked forward to the most). Needless to say I was and still am pretty devastated over this. I realize it had to be done and I'm grateful I didn't have to suffer but after 9 long months and a fairly painful labor to miss the grand finale is pretty heartbreaking. I remember waking up and I just kept repeating "I missed it" "I missed it".

And poor Kristian was just terrified because the doctor didn't warn him that they were putting me out, so one second we're talking and the next I'm out cold and he had no idea what was going on. He asked the anesthesiologist what was going on and he responded in his very dry, Russian accent "She can't talk, she is sleeping". Again I had prepared myself for the possibility of a Csection but not the possibility that I would miss the birth, whoever thinks that will happen?? I've been holding it together pretty well but I have a feeling this is going to really hit me later once I'm home and all is well.

Once I got to recovery Kristian put Hunter in my arms and I got to see him for the first time, however I was still so incredibly groggy that I could hardly keep my eyes open or really focus on him. Our families then came in and got to see Hunter for the first time but they didn't stay long before I was moved into my post partum room.

Since this is already so long I will post part 2 at a later time, unfortunately things didn't get much easier after delivery....

My Son

2012-01-01T22:21:00.000-05:00

Here are just a few of the MANY pictures we've been taking of Hunter the past few days. I will hopefully have his birth story posted soon. It's long and fairly dramatic but he's here and that's all that matters. He's also currently in the NICU but should be totally fine, however any extra prayers you may feel like throwing our way would be greatly appreciated. We are madly in love with this little guy and can't wait to take him home.

So happy that he was finally here.

Friday night, we were both very tired after our little adventure.

Love that face.

Daddy is obsessed with his little boy. They are best buds already.

He's already had most of these wires removed and is making huge progress.

We went down to the NICU to celebrate at midnight on New Years Eve with Hunter. He couldn't wear the little onesie I bought him but this was close enough.

Introducing...

2011-12-31T08:55:00.001-05:00

Hunter Kristian-- Born-12/30/11 4:51pm 7lbs 12ozs ***I promise to post pics and more info later but trying to post from my iPad and it's not cooperating!

40 Weeks- Last Update!

2011-12-28T10:57:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 40 Weeks!!!! Fully Baked!

**Christmas morning- Holy cow I'm HUGE!**

Last week I posted a bare belly shot which was taken 1 week before delivery, here is a side by side comparison picture of me with my mom one week before I was born. We were basically the same size pre-pregnancy and the same age.

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is the size of a small pumpkin...yeah an 8+ pound pumpkin!

It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Looks like I'm going to end this in the 35 pound gain category which is good considering I started off very small and seem to be having a good size baby. I actually didn't gain any weight this week despite all the eating I did for the holiday.

Maternity Clothes: Now that I'm working from home until he comes I'm just wearing leggings and Kristian's shirts

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Still feel him throughout the day though I think he sleeps more, probably saving his energy for the big moment. My in-laws were able to feel a few kicks during Christmas which was fun.

What I miss: not constantly wondering if every feeling/twitch/pain I'm having is labor starting.

Sleep: Still sucks though last night I decided to sleep on the couch since my constant getting up, tossing and turning have been keeping Kristian up as well and surprisingly I slept great. I might try sleeping on the couch again tonight.

Symptoms: Contractions and cramping though nothing consistent or regular enough to go to the hospital for yet. Also, feeling a lot more nauseous which is the worst.

Cravings: Sweet Tea from McDonalds. Drinking it right now in fact.

Doctor's Appointment: I had my last official doctor's appointment yesterday and I made Kristian go with me so that he could meet the doctor that will be doing the induction and ask any questions he may have. It appears I've gone from a fingertip to 1cm dilated in a week and I'm 80% effaced. The doctor was even able to feel the baby's head!! Since I was finally dilated he was able to do a Membrane Sweep to try to kick start labor...FYI it hurts! So far it's just made me feel very crampy but I'm hoping I might be more dilated.

The plan right now assuming he doesn't come prior, is to go into the hospital tomorrow night to get a prostaglandin gel applied to hopefully help me start to dilate and contract more. They will monitor me for a while and depending on what happens I may get sent home for the night and then will go back in Friday morning to start the Pitocin.

Best Moment this week: Getting to spend Christmas with our families rather than in the hospital which has been my fear for the past 9 months. I can't believe next Christmas I'll have an almost 1 year old son!

What I am looking forward to: Getting labor over with and holding my sweet baby boy this weekend!!!

*I'm not sure if I will be posting again before the baby arrives so any thoughts and prayers you want to send my way would be greatly appreciated*

D-Day

2011-12-26T11:18:00.001-05:00

Today is my official due date and so far this kid continues to be quite happy where he is. We made it through the holiday weekend, including 3 family gatherings, lots of presents and even more food all baby free. We saw Kristian's extended family last night, most of whom I haven't seen since I've been pregnant. Everyone got a kick out of seeing and rubbing my big belly.

Now the countdown is in full effect. I have until Friday to try to get this baby moving on my own and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that at my last doctor's appointment which is scheduled for tomorrow there will have been some progress made.

Come on baby boy, we can't wait to meet you!!!!

Happy Holidays

2011-12-23T09:50:00.001-05:00

Happy Holidays from my family to yours.

39 Weeks- Still pregnant

2011-12-22T10:11:00.002-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 39 Weeks (1 week or less!)

Since this could be my last update before the baby comes I thought I would finally show a bare belly shot. Enjoy! haha

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is the size of a mini watermelon! Mini my ass, this kid is huge!

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds (my doctor is predicting bigger) (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +35 pounds approximately. I haven't gained any weight since last week which is good.

Maternity Clothes: All maternity and those are running small. I have very little options nowadays.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Still movement though he seems to move mostly at night now rather than all day long like before. When he does kick it hurts. I predict this kid has huge feet like his father.

What I miss: feeling normal.

Sleep: Sleep? What's that? I actually hate bedtime because it's just frustrating for me at this point.

Symptoms: If it's a pregnancy symptom I pretty much have it. I feel like crap 24/7 and I'm just over it, pregnancy was cool but I'm done. As scared as I am of labor, it's inevitable so let's just get this thing over with already.

Cravings: Nothing. Anytime I eat I feel sick and if I don't eat I feel sick. It's like the first trimester all over again with about 30 other symptoms now thrown in the mix.

Doctor's Appointment: As of Monday at my 39 week appointment there had been no change or progress. Still only a fingertip dilated which is basically nothing. He did offer to induce me this week so that I could be home by Christmas but after hearing I still wasn't dilated I decided to hold off. I really don't want to be induced and if they try to before I even start dilating it's a longer process that I fear will likely end with a C-section. As much as it sucks I'm going to try to wait it out and continue to hope my body at least starts the process before my induction date to help things move quicker. The doctor is also predicting this kid is in the 8-8 1/2 pound range! Just a reminder I'm 5 feet tall and weighed 105 pounds pre-pregnancy so yeah that huge for me. If I can make it through the weekend I'm going to really ramp up the home induction techniques Monday (i.e. spicy food, walking, sex etc.)

Best Moment this week: Finally finishing Christmas shopping (though we still need to wrap everything) and being days away from having my little guy.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting my son at some point in the next week!

Still

2011-12-19T10:32:00.001-05:00

Still pregnant.

Still uncomfortable.

I think little man is planning to stick this out until the bitter end which would be ironic considering basically everybody, including myself, was convinced he would come early.

I have my 39 week appointment this afternoon so we'll see if any progress has been made. I'm not too optimistic and at this point I'm hoping he'll hold off until after Christmas this weekend anyway.

This past weekend I really did a whole lot of nothing. We went out to dinner Friday night for what is probably our last date night for a while and were in bed by 8:30pm. Yeah we're party animals huh?

Other than that I laid around the house and tried to enjoy my last weekend of pure laziness. Assuming he doesn't come in the next few days we'll be pretty busy this weekend with family celebrating Christmas.

**Funny story from dinner on Friday-- I went to the bathroom (I basically live in the bathroom nowadays) and there was a woman in there with her young son and daughter. I estimate the son to be around 4 years old. After I went into the stall I heard the little boy ask his mom "Mommy why is that lady so fat?" and her response "She's not fat, she has a baby in her belly". So yeah. That's where I'm at right now, out of the mouths of babes!

38 Weeks

2011-12-15T10:57:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 38 Weeks (2 weeks or less!)

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the length of a leek.

Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long. He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. (Yay!!)

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after he's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +35 pounds approximately. My doc is estimating that the baby is around 7 1/2 pounds at this point. He's definitely chunking up because this weight gain isn't from over-eating, I really don't eat much nowadays.

Maternity Clothes: All maternity and even those clothes are getting small, if this kid doesn't come soon I'll just have to wrap a sheet around my body.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Still feel movements all day long though not quite as active as before, I can tell he's running out of room in there.

What I miss: same stuff as before, mainly just not feeling so much discomfort ALL THE TIME.

Sleep: Let's put it this way, I would pay BIG money for one good night's sleep. I just hope I have enough energy for labor.

Symptoms: same as before-a lot of BH contractions, cramping, nausea, minor swelling, round ligament pain yada yada yada.

Cravings: No foods just liquids especially chocolate milk and sweet tea.

Doctor's Appointment: As I mentioned yesterday I'm only a fingertip dilated but my cervix is soft and thinned out, so according to him things are looking "favorable" just moving slow. I try not to put too much stock into the whole dilation thing because you can walk around for weeks being dilated and still not go into labor or you could not be dilated at all and suddenly have your water break in a Chipotle (true story, happened to my friend).

Best Moment this week: Finishing the nursery and scheduling an induction date. He will be here sometime in the next two weeks no matter what!!

What I am looking forward to: Starting 2012 with a beautiful baby boy!

Eviction Notice

2011-12-14T11:25:00.000-05:00

Well baby boy better start packing his bags because unless he decides to come on his own (please God!) he will be officially evicted from the womb on December 30th!!!!! At some point in the next 2 weeks and 2 days this child will be making his grand entrance into the world whether he likes it or not.

At my doctor's appointment yesterday (where I was only a fingertip dilated. Sigh.) he asked me my feelings towards being induced at some point, bearing in mind that no matter what they won't let me go more than 2 weeks past my due date. He said it was up to me how long I wanted to go before doing an induction though I could go as early as next week if I chose.

I decided that despite my discomfort I would rather he come on his own so I decided to wait until a few days past my due date, which is Dec. 26th, in the hopes he'll get his act together and decide to come on his own. I decided the 30th would be a good date otherwise. It gives a few days between his birthday and Christmas and it will still give me a two day window (in case I'm in labor for a long time) to get him out before the end of the year and therefore we can get the tax deduction (any little bit helps right?) It also happens to be the birthday of Kristian's favorite uncle so that would be kinda nice as well.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't need the induction, I've heard that typically it leads to more painful contractions and longer labors in general but in another two weeks I doubt I'll care anymore and will just want him out.

The countdown is now really, truly on!

The Nursery

2011-12-12T20:28:00.000-05:00

**FYI this is going to be a long post.**

So our nursery is FINALLY finished...well at least it's as finished as it will get before our little one arrives. There are still some things we'll add after he gets here and I'm sure we'll move stuff around as needed but this is about as good as it's gonna get for now.

Just a quick reminder of what the room looked like before when it was a guest room. I never had much desire to do much with it since I had hoped we'd be turning it into a nursery sooner rather than later. Pretty boring eh?

Check out the transformation:

When you first open the door you see this chalkboard sign we made. We just took a regular white picture frame and used chalkboard spray paint on the glass. I thought it would be fun to be able to write little notes or even reminders like "buy more diapers" and then when he gets older he can use it to draw on.

Here's the view looking in from the door.

We got this crib from Costco. It was a gift from Kristian's grandmother and is a convertible crib that turns into a daybed and then later a full size bed. The bedding is from Target. I wanted something that would be easy to mix and match with other items as opposed to just sticking with a cartoon or sports theme and having everything match exactly. I get tired of bedding easily so I didn't want our whole room centered around bedding I might want to change in a few months. The little bear in the crib was Kristian's as a child.

The plan is to keep the baby in our room in a bassinet at first and then eventually transition him into his crib. When we do that we'll take out the bumpers, stuffed animal and not use the larger blanket. It's all just decorative for now.

Here is the focal point of the room. The tree! I knew I wanted a tree in the room and assumed we would just buy one of the many decals out there but Kristian thought it would be more meaningful to do it ~~ourselves~~ himself. He drew the outline of the tree in blue chalk on the wall first and then his mother came over and painted the tree, leaves and birds. It took her 3 trips to get it done and I LOVE IT! I'm going to be so sad whenever we eventually move or he gets older and doesn't want a tree on his wall anymore and we need to paint over it.

Here's a better close up. She added various birds to the tree and the detail is amazing on these birds. I truly hope my son gets his artistic side from his fathers side because I can't even draw stick figures. I also love how the tree carries into the closet space.

I love the little nest of eggs and falling leaves over the crib. I think the boy will have a lot of fun looking up at this when he's in his crib.

Here's the view from the closet side of the room. I got the curtains at Burlington Coat Factory. They did not come with the bedding but I think they coordinate really well. We plan to get shades or blinds eventually but since it's winter and it gets dark so early I think we'll be okay without them for now. the curtains help block out a lot of the light.

Here's the dresser/changing table. The top part comes off and can be used as just a dresser so that way it can grow with the child. We also got this at Costco and it matches the crib. This was a gift from my in-laws. In the basket we have diapers, wipes, butt cream, hand sanitizer and I'm sure more will be added. The rug in front of it is a hand me down from my mother. We got the diaper champ from a neightbor. I've read mixed reviews on them but figured it can't hurt to try it out. I suspect nothing will really keep the stink out so we'll probably just have to empty this multiple times a day. The glider is from Target and was bought with a bunch of gift cards I had. I'll be honest, it wasn't my first choice but unfortunately we can't afford the $400 one from Babies R Us that I really wanted.

I've already decorated some wooden letters to spell out his name which will be hung above the dresser. Since we're keeping the name a surprise we won't hang them until after he's born and I'll post a picture of it at a later time. Above the chair I plan on either hanging some floating shelves to put odds and ends on or do a collage of his newborn pictures. Not sure yet.

Here is the top drawer with all his little socks, booties and hats. Yes we even have a little Santa hat in case he comes early. On the left are his newborn and 0-3 months onesies and sleepers.

In the second drawer we have more onesies and sleepers going up to 6 months. We don't have many clothes past 6 months, mainly for storage purposes and because I don't know how quickly he'll grow or what season he'll end up needing certain sizes in. I figure there's plenty of time to shop for larger sizes later on. No need to have every outfit he'll need for the first year right now.

The bottom drawer right now is sort of a miscellanous drawer, we have some swaddlers, sweaters and extra hangers in there for now. You can see the letters for his name peeking out a bit in the back. I painted the letters brown and then affixed them to square wooden backers that I decorated with scrapbook paper. Also, you can see my belly in the picture, just some proof I can no longer see my feet.

This is a little bookcase that Kristian built. Thanks to his job he has access to a lot of free wood so he used some cedar from work, built and stained it to match. He's quite handy! Right now it holds some maternity photos, a sonogram picture, the baby monitor and some books. My brother has our stash of the little Golden Books we had as children I just need to get them from him to add to the collection.

Here is the view from the window side of the room into the closet. When we moved in there were some ugly sliding doors that I hated. We removed those and initially thought of adding some cute curtains but decided to leave it open because I think it makes the room feel bigger. And it forces us to keep the closet somewhat organized.

I decided to paint the wall of the closet a darker blue to add contrast. Also, the top two long shelves were already there but Kristian built, painted and installed the bottom shelves and wall divider. Told you he was handy :)

These are the prints that were done for me by Kristen who runs Little Laws Prints. I love them!

Here's a close up of the closet. I separated out all the tops and bottoms when hanging the clothes rather than keeping them together in the outfits they came in. This will help me mix and match his clothes easier. I also have them going in sizes from newborn up.

In the top white baskets I have extra diapers and his pacifiers, rattles and other odds and ends. In the colored baskets I have all of his blankets, burp cloths and bibs separated out and organized.

On that middle shelf I have some shoes for him, aren't they cute! There is also a framed picture of Kristian when he was a little boy sleeping with some of the stuffed animals that are now in the nursery.

Whew! That was a lot!

We put a lot of time, energy and love into this room and it's by far my most favorite room in our house. I find it very calming and peaceful and I hope our little guy loves it as much as we do and has fun growing up in here.

Fears

2011-12-12T09:48:00.000-05:00

As of today I am officially 38 weeks pregnant and my due date is exactly two weeks away. Of course, baby boy could come at any point between now and then. The nursery is finally finished (pictures to come), the house is decorated for Christmas, we've stocked up on toiletries and non perishable items so that we can just make some quick runs to the store initially, we're getting caught up on laundry, we've started Christmas shopping (if a few gifts end up coming late I suspect we'll be forgiven) so in the preparedness sense we're basically ready for his arrival.

In the mental and emotional sense I could use another few months. I'm not gonna lie I'm scared, anxious, terrified, having a panic attack daily at the thought of actually having this child. My primary fear at the moment is labor itself. I don't do pain. I don't do sickness. My tolerance for either is LOW. And I realize there are pain meds available (sign me up!) but typically you experience at least some pain prior to receiving those. The fact is this child needs to come out of my body, someway, somehow and none of the options for making that happen sound pleasant. I'm scared of going into labor while at work or even in the middle of night. I'm scared of having the baby at home or in the car (both of which are unlikely I know). The thought of a scheduled C-section where I know the time it's going to happen and can skip most of the actual labor part sounds more and more appealing (though this won't happen unless there is medical cause for it). So much of my fear is the unknown aspect of everything. I'm a planner. I'm a bit of a control freak. This is basically the complete opposite of what I'm comfortable with.

I realize the pain part is temporary and results in the best, most incredible gift ever but then there are the fears that creep in about something going wrong. What if something happens to the baby or to me. I've had a pretty easy pregnancy to this point so there's no reason to think something will go wrong but you just don't know. It's terrifying to think of all the possible complications. This is where the Internet can be your worst enemy.

And finally there is the whole bringing the baby home and actually having to take care of him. Yeah I have no clue what I'm doing. People say so much of it is just instinct but what if I'm missing that gene?

Don't get me wrong I'm SO excited to meet this little guy growing inside me, to see his face and kiss the little feet that keep kicking me and see my husband hold him. It's going to be amazing, I know that and I try to focus on that but these other fears keep creeping in. I'm trying to enjoy these last couple weeks/days of being pregnant and having my son all to myself but I'm scared. I'm not gonna lie.

37 Weeks

2011-12-08T10:21:00.001-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 37 Weeks (FULL TERM!!)

Large and in Charge!

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the length of a Swiss Chard (??). I prefer The Bump's comparison which is now a Watermelon...yep that sounds right.

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +32 pounds approximately. My legs and feet hurt so bad if I walk around too much, all this extra weight is really hard for me to carry.

Maternity Clothes: pretty much all maternity as well as Kristian's clothes for lounging around in. Even my shoes are tight so I wear the same 3 pairs all the time.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Still lots of movement, I can't believe he still has any room in there to move but he's still doing body rolls on a regular basis.

What I miss: oh goodness this list is long- wearing my wedding/engagement ring (even my larger, fake diamond band I've been wearing is getting too tight), sleeping on my stomach, being able to walk around for more than 10 minutes without getting tired, not feeling uncomfortable 24/7, being skinny and feeling pretty (vain but true)

Sleep: Still sucks but I've given up on a good nights sleep at this point. I get up to pee all the time and I just can't get comfortable and have BH contractions throughout the night. I pretty much dread bedtime.

Symptoms: Still a lot of BH contractions, cramping, nausea and dizziness, minor swelling, round ligament pain. Basically if it's a pregnancy symptom I have it.

Cravings: Liquids, I'm always thirsty.

Doctor's Appointment: I'm adding this since I'm now going every week. As of yesterday I'm still not dilated at all and the baby is still pretty far back but apparently I've started to "thin" out so I guess that's some progress. Little dude seems quite happy in there so maybe he won't come early after all. Also, the nurse is guessing he's around 7-7 1/2 pounds! Which would explain why I'm so uncomfortable. I also tested negative for the Group B Strep test which is good and means I won't need to get antibiotics during labor.

Best Moment this week: My prenatal massage last weekend. I wish I had done it even sooner. In fact I splurged to become a member which means I pay $50 a month and get either a massage or a facial (both usually cost $100) so now I'm forced to go and relax once a month which I think as a new mommy I'm gonna need.

What I am looking forward to: Hopefully after this weekend the nursery will be more or less finished and I can post pictures finally. Also, meeting my little man of course!

Decking the Halls

2011-12-04T11:09:00.001-05:00

Last week when I was still on bedrestKristian took the reigns and got the house decorated and all festive for Christmas. I really want this done in case little man decides to come early, I want to bring him home to a decorated house. Plus I just love how much nicer it makes the house look in general.

I have to give Kristian credit, he not only got everything out but did a great job decorating. Since this is our first Christmas in this house we weren't quite sure where everything would go but I think he did a great job figuring it all out with very little input from my lazy ass. I did however put all the ornaments on the tree since that's my favorite part and something I've insisted on doing since I was little.

Now for the pictures!

Entry table.

Our dog has now learned to ring those little bells when she needs to go outside.

Our dining room. We put the tree in here because we really don't have space in the living room at the moment and once we get the pack n play set up for the baby we'll have even less space. We might change it up next year.

Next year we plan to invest in either a real tree or at least a bigger fake one. This one seems to shrink each year.

The view into the living room. I love all the lights and what he did with the banister separating the two rooms.

Gotta have some mistletoe!

Hopefully Santa can fit down our chimney.

I love having a real fireplace and mantle at Christmas time.

My aunt made all three stockings. Mine is on the right and I've had it since I was a little girl. Kristian's is on the left and she made that after we got married, it's a fishing/hunting theme and our little guy's stocking is in the middle, it's a football shoe and sock in VA Tech colors.

View into the dining room.

Check out Halpert on the couch, that's his favorite spot to lay in the house.

I think I'm going to leave Kristian in charge of the Christmas decorating from now on, he did a great job and I was very happy to get this checked off our to-do list.

36 Weeks

2011-12-01T10:31:00.001-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 36 weeks (I'm in my 9th month!!)

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a crenshaw melon (never heard of a crenshaw melon before but it must be quite large).

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +30 pounds and I can feel every pound of it when I stand up or walk around. Looks like I lost all the extra water weight I gained last week.

Maternity Clothes: 90% maternity, there are still a few non maternity things I can squeeze into but it ain't pretty.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Yep he seems to enjoy kicking my ribs and head butting my vaj but it's still the best part of pregnancy and the one part I will really miss.

What I miss: a good night's sleep.

Sleep: Sucks. Plain and simple. I get up almost every hour at night to either pee or readjust. I really think I will get more sleep once he's here than I am now. I can't really get much less at this point.

Symptoms: Still a lot of BH contractions and a little cramping and some nausea. My back has actually been hurting a lot less which is good, guess maybe he has change positions or something.

Cravings: Popsicles.

Best Moment this week: No longer need to be on bed rest! My doc checked me yesterday and I'm still not dilated and at this point if I went into labor they wouldn't try to stop it so I can go back to normal activities. Also, decorating the house for Christmas and the Christmas bonus check I got at work yesterday!!

What I am looking forward to: Meeting my little dude this month!

Growth

2011-11-30T20:05:00.001-05:00

Just for some perspective here are my weekly photos from weeks 22-34 (I'm now at 36 weeks). Once I hit the 30's the belly became a bit out of control. You can also really see how chubby my face has gotten the past few weeks And to think I thought I looked huge back at 25 weeks. I had NO IDEA what was in store and I still have potentially another month to go. Believe it or not I'm still measuring right on schedule.

Just thought this was a fun little review of my belly growth over the past 3 months.

Also, can someone explain to me how despite the pre-natal vitamins I've been taking my hair doesn't seem to be getting any longer. I thought pregnancy made your hair grow faster???

Stuff

2011-11-29T12:28:00.001-05:00

-We had my in-laws over the other night to watch football (my FIL) and to work on the nursery (my MIL) and we had such a great time. I wish they would come over more often to hang out.

-Bedrest sounds great in theory...forced to relax, yes please...but honestly after about a day it gets annoying, especially when you have a mile long to-do list that you are eager to complete.

-I haven't bought one Christmas present yet and have no idea when I'll start. No one has told me what they want and I don't have the brain power to come up with ideas on my own this year.

-With that said I haven't been able to tell anyone anything that I want because there really isn't anything that I need or want other than maybe a new phone that takes better pictures than my crapberry.

-My mom and older brother get back tonight from their Europe trip so now I don't have to worry about the baby coming early and them missing it. This has actually been a big fear of mine the past week.

-I was really looking forward to decorating our new house for Christmas this year but since I was told to essentially be a couch potato Kristian has had to take the lead on all the decorating. I didn't want to put it off just in case the baby does come early, I want to bring him home to an already decorated house. With that said I think he's actually doing a better job decorating than I would have.

-The nursery is about 90% done and it's looking great. I can't wait to put the finishing touches on it and post pictures.

-Since I've been home I've become obsessed with watching A Baby Story on TLC. I cry every episode. Also, I'm getting more and more nervous to deliver this child.

35 Weeks

2011-11-25T09:55:00.001-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 35 weeks

*This was taken at my in-laws house during Thanksgiving, I still look really swollen from all the fluids I got in the hospital*

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a honeydew melon

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds . Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I refuse to answer this since my weight gain is a bit exaggerated thanks to all the fluids I got in the hospital and Thanksgiving yesterday. I don't even want to weight myself. Maybe next week.

Maternity Clothes: Maternity clothes and Kristian's clothes for lounging around in.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Lots of movement, sometimes it's so strong it hurts a bit. Our nieces and nephew got to feel him kick yesterday which was fun.

What I miss: Right now I miss being able to do anything other than lay around, I feel like there is still so much to do and I can't really do any of it and it's driving me a bit crazy but keeping him inside is more important at this point.

Sleep: Since I didn't sleep at all in the hospital Tuesday night I've actually slept great the last two nights, my body was exhausted.

Symptoms: Lots of braxton hicks contractions and swelling, I now have cankles. Also, some nausea on and off.

Cravings: Nothing really, I don't have much of an appetite. I've been drinking lots of water to stay hydrated and that fills me up.

Best Moment this week: NOT having the baby on Tuesday night, I really want him to wait until my mom gets back from Europe and until he's further along. Also, Thanksgiving yesterday was really nice.

What I am looking forward to: Hopefully getting everything done before he arrives.

Thankful

2011-11-23T20:50:00.001-05:00

This year in particular I have so many things to be thankful for. There have been so many exciting and wonderful changes in my life and I'm truly blessed and grateful. So this year I will be giving thanks especially for:

-My amazing, wonderful, loving, handsome husband who treats me better than I ever imagined possible. I still can't believe how lucky I am to have him.

-My sweet baby boy that is (thankfully) still growing in my belly. I'm so excited to meet him and watch him grow up.

-My family, including my in-laws, who have always been so supportive and loving.

-My fur children, Halpert and Moxie, who provide hours of entertainment and unconditional love.

-My house, at this time last year we were stuck in a condo we hated and dreamed of owning a house that we loved, a few months later that dream came true.

-Our jobs, yes it would be great to win the lotto and retire early but in this economy we both know how lucky we are to have jobs that support our growing family.

-And of course our friends who have been there for us for years no matter the ups and downs.

Today we'll be celebrating and stuffing our faces at my in-laws house. Just think, next year there will be a high chair and sweet almost 1 year old baby boy at the table with us. I can't wait!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

False Alarm

2011-11-23T11:47:00.001-05:00

This is how I spent my evening last night...

Yep I spent my evening in Labor and Delivery. Fortunately baby is okay and still baking away in mommy's belly where we hope he will stay for a few more weeks at least.

When I was leaving work I went to the bathroom and noticed I was bleeding a bit, since I haven't bled at all during the pregnancy I freaked out a LOT. I left work and called my doctor's office. They told me to go ahead and head to the hospital to get checked out. Between the rain and the holiday/rush hour traffic it took me an hour to get there. I was a little stressed especially since my mother is on vacation in Europe until next week and I have this fear the baby will come while she's gone. I called Kristian, who was already at home, and he met me at the hospital.

When I got there, I went to the bathroom again and this time didn't see any blood which was comforting. They hooked me up to the machines and saw that I was having contractions 2-4 minutes apart!! Most of them I couldn't even feel and the ones I did felt just like my regular braxton hicks, nothing too painful. The nurse checked my cervix and HOLY MOTHER OF SWEET BABY JESUS, that is no joke, it hurts!! Honestly, I think she stuck her whole arm up there because apparently my cervix is very far back. Thankfully I wasn't dilated at all so the nurse didn't think the baby was going to be coming that night.

They thought I was dehydrated so they hooked me up to an IV (that also hurt) and pumped 3 bags into me pretty quickly. I was literally having to get up to pee every 20 minutes from all the fluids. They also gave me a pill to slow down the contractions. After about 3 hours with little change they told me I had to stay overnight.

They moved me into a delivery room and kept me hooked up to the IV all night and would give me more pills throughout in the hopes the contractions would space out. Finally this morning it looked like it was working and my contractions were very irregular and more like 10-15 minutes apart. The doctor determined that I could go home but that I need to basically be on bedrest until my next scheduled appointment next week where they will check me again to see if I'm dilating. I am allowed to go to my in-laws tomorrow for Thanksgiving (they actually live closer to the hospital than we do) but basically I am only allowed to sit around and eat, that I can do! Kristian also basically has to cater to me for the next week.This does however put a big crimp in all the things I planned to get done this weekend for the baby but I guess Kristian can just do it all for me.

I'm very thankful that baby boy didn't arrive early, even though at 35 weeks he would probably be fine, it's better if he can stay in there for a few more weeks. We were both very anxious last night at the thought of him coming right now, I definitely don't feel ready yet and the thought of labor is scaring the shit out of me. This is all getting very very real but at least now we've had our test run so hopefully next time it won't be quite so scary.

Weekend Recap

2011-11-22T11:15:00.001-05:00

It's amazing to me that our baby free weekends are rapidly coming to a close so it's important to try cram in as much as we can while we can. I haven't been feeling that great that last few days, as I get closer to D-Day the worse I seem to feel physically so it's been tough getting shit done and just doing anything other than lay on the couch. Here's a quick recap of our weekend.

Friday Night-
-I made my husband take me out to dinner. We haven't been out on a "date" in a while and I felt I was due. We went to a little Mexican place close to our house and I've now discovered the best queso dip in Northern VA. Kristian loved his meal so much I really thought he was going to hug the waiter. I think we'll be going back.

Saturday-

-While my husband and father-in-law went to check out a gun show (yes a real gun show, not the kind where you just show off your biceps) I did some more baby shopping. I decided to check out a baby consignment shop I had heard a lot about. I picked up several little outfits (all in great condition) and only spent $17! When you think that most babies only wear an outfit a couple times before they grow out of it most of this stuff looked almost brand new. My only complaint- they didn't have a public restroom to use...when you have pregnant chicks as your main customer I highly suggest having a bathroom for them to use. Common sense.

Sunday-

-Got up early and dragged Kristian with me to see Breaking Dawn. If we go to the movies (which isn't often) we always go to the early show on the weekend because it's the cheapest....only $6 a ticket as opposed to $12.

-Overall I liked the movie but not nearly as much as I liked the book. The theater was pretty packed for it being so early and there was a woman at the end of our row who thought it would be a good idea to bring her approximately 4 year old daughter to see the movie (totally not appropriate by the way). Well I guess the child is neither Team Edward or Team Jacob because she started SCREAMING during the movie (and not at a scary part either). The mother just acted totally oblivious until finally people started yelling "Take her out of the theater" or "Leave" before she finally got up and took the child out. By the way, nobody said anything for about 5 minutes, all hoping she would settle down, when the screaming got louder that's when people started to get pissed.

**Here's the thing I get that kids are going to throw tantrums and it sucks for the parent but you need to be a responsible adult and take your child out if you're in a theater or restaurant or other public place and they throw a fit (if you're on a plane and literally cannot go anywhere that's different). I know it's inconvenient but it's not fair to ruin the experience for those around you. Rant over.

-I spent the afternoon, washing baby clothes and working on a DIY project for the nursery while Kristian slept in his recliner watching football

So that was our weekend in a nutshell. I'm hoping to get a lot more accomplished on the baby prep front during the long holiday weekend as well as start decorating for Christmas. We'll see if my energy level can match my to-do list.

34 Weeks

2011-11-17T10:40:00.001-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 34 weeks

*Despite my hugeness I'm still measuring right on schedule according to my doctor's appt. yesterday*

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a cantaloupe (this feels about right)

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies (this is comforting!)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +28 pounds approximately. I suspect Thanksgiving next week will definitely push me over the 30 pound gain mark.

Maternity Clothes: Yep and I'm already sick of the few outfits that I keep having to rotate but I refuse to buy more clothes to just wear for a month.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: He's still quite the mover and shaker and his movements are getting stronger by the day. You can just see my belly dancing around which is neat.

What I miss: My cute winter clothes and boots that no longer fit. I'm so sick of wearing the same few outfits over and over. Also being able to roll over easily in bed, it's a huge production to get comfortable every night.

Sleep: Still not great but I'm getting use to the lack of sleep.

Symptoms: Same as always. The braxton hicks seem to be increasing in frequency and the swelling is getting worse. I had to retire my wedding bands this past weekend :(

Cravings: Anything liquid, I'm ALWAYS thirsty.

Best Moment this week: Washing all the baby blankets and a lot of the clothes-Nesting has kicked in full force. Also, the changes/additions we've done to the nursery. It's so close to being done and I LOVE it! Can't wait to share pictures.

What I am looking forward to: my maternity leave! Work has been so busy lately that I can't wait to take my 6 weeks and just focus on my little guy. It will be the longest I've gone without work and/or school since I was 15. Not that taking care of a newborn is a vacation by any means but it will be a nice break.

**Starting in 3 weeks I will be having my weekly appointments and they will be checking my cervix each time to see if I'm dilating. I'm not looking forward to the actual checks since I hear they can hurt but I am curious to see if/how much I'm dilating.**

Reality

2011-11-15T11:23:00.001-05:00

Currently my commute each day to and from work is about an hour long, on a good day I can make it in 45 minutes but that's rare. Last Thursday night there were two accidents and it took me 1 1/2 hours to get home. Needless to say I was not in a good mood.

While sitting my car, realizing I wouldn't get home until close to 6:30 (I get off work at 5pm) I started to think about how it will be after the baby comes. Because we can't afford for either of us to quit our jobs the baby will be in daycare once my maternity leave ends. Since Kristian has to be at work by 7am the plan is for me to drop the baby off in the mornings around 7:30am and then Kristian will pick him up in the afternoons. His schedule is flexible and he's usually done by 4pm at the latest so this way the baby won't have to be in daycare from 6am-6pm and will get to have a few hours alone with daddy every day until I get home around 6.

What I realized while sitting in traffic is that with me not getting home until 6pm or later everyday I'm not going to have much time with my kid during the weeknights. Once I get home we'll be busy making/eating dinner and then it will be time to give him a bath and start getting him ready for bed etc.. From what I've read most babies go to bed around 7:30-8pm. So basically I'll have 1 1/2-2 hours each night with my kid and that's about it (I'm not going to count the middle of the night feedings/diaper changes since I'll only be half conscious).

I know this is pretty standard for most working mothers so I'm in no way a special case but the realization of it just kinda sucks. It makes me sad to think that I won't get much quality time with my little guy during the week but unfortunately there isn't a whole lot I can do about it. We can't afford for me to be a stay at home mom, my job won't let me telecommute everyday and seeing how great the job market is I don't think I'll have much luck finding another job that pays me the same (or more) that is closer to home. Sigh.

So do any of you working mothers out there have any advice or tips for how to have as much time as possible with my little one once I head back to work?

O.M.G.!!!!

2011-11-14T10:18:00.001-05:00

This morning the official movie trailer for the Hunger Games was revealed on GMA and it's AWESOME! I admit to doubting some of the casting choices in the beginning but I'm fully on board right now. The trailer gave me goose bumps and I CANNOT wait to see this movie in March. Better line up a babysitter now because mama's going opening night. Check it out below and if you haven't read The Hunger Games drop what you're doing and go read it!

Hunger Games trailer

33 Weeks

2011-11-10T10:42:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 33 weeks

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a pineapple

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +26-27 pounds approximately. I seem to be gaining about a pound a week which is what I should be doing.

Maternity Clothes: mostly maternity and even some of those shirts are getting tight, but that could be because I seem to shrink everything I wash.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Lots of movement and it's getting stronger everyday. He seems to be doing more rolling than kicking though some of his movements are so strong they catch me off guard.

What I miss: Being able to just move around easily like I use to. Even the smallest things like getting dressed in the morning or getting off the couch is a struggle nowadays.

Sleep: Not good, getting up a lot to pee, it's rather annoying.

Symptoms: It would be easier to list the symptoms I don't have! At this point I have a bit of everything- backaches, lots of braxton hicks contractions, minor heartburn, slight swelling in the feet, and just general discomfort almost 24/7.

Cravings: Chocolate milk and cherry coke (though not together) and basically anything sweet.

Best Moment this week: Going shopping with my mom last weekend for baby stuff. I have a slight addiction to baby clothes that is not healthy for my bank account.

What I am looking forward to: Having no set plans this weekend, hopefully I can get a lot of "nesting" done. Also, looking forward to Thanksgiving in two weeks and having a 4 day weekend, I need it badly.

**Don't forget to put your guesses into our baby pool

Baby Pool

2011-11-08T11:04:00.001-05:00

With less than 2 months to go until this child makes his grand entrance into the world I thought it would be fun to setup a little baby pool and let everyone guess on when they think baby boy will make an appearance along with the rest of his stats. I actually saw this on Kirstens blog and thought it would be a really fun thing to do. You just go to our personal site and enter in your guesses. The winner will get....bragging rights! Who knows maybe I'll come up with a prize if someone really does guess dead on.

**If I end up with a scheduled C-section, we'll throw out the birthdate part of it and just keep the rest of the categories.

32 Weeks

2011-11-03T11:07:00.001-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 32 weeks

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a large jicama

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +25 pounds approximately. I'm thinking my goal of not gaining more than 30 pounds is out the window considering I still have about 8 weeks left and the holidays thrown in there.

Maternity Clothes: mostly maternity but still can squeeze into some jeans and larger regular shirts. My shoes are starting to get a bit tight though.

Gender: BOY!

Movement: All day everyday. The other night Kristian was pushing on my tummy where the baby usually kicks and 30 seconds later he would kick. Kristian would push again and a few seconds later he would kick again, it was like they were playing a little back and forth poking game with each other. It was cute.

What I miss: Not feeling uncomfortable 24/7 and wearing heels

Sleep: Good nights and bad nights. Last night was great, Tuesday night was miserable.

Symptoms: Same old same old; backaches, braxton hicks, some slight swelling at the end of the day and just recently minor heartburn. Good times.

Cravings: Still more interested in drinking than eating. I'm always thirsty but not particularly hungry most of the time.

Best Moment this week: Getting my maternity photos done last weekend. I love them! As of my doctor's appointment yesterday I'm back to measuring on schedule rather than two weeks ahead so that's good news.

What I am looking forward to: Finishing up the nursery, my goal is to have it done by the beginning of Dec. unfortunately I need Kristian's help with a few things and he is not in the nesting mode like I am so he's taking his sweet time with things.

Maternity Shots (taken at 32 weeks)

2011-11-01T10:37:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday my friend Laura, who happens to be my sorority big sister, came over to take some maternity photos for us. Laura recently moved to Northern VA with her husband and two little boys which is awesome because I haven't seen her in years and now she lives right by where I work. It's always nice to have friends (and especially those with little kids) in the area.

Laura recently started a photography business and after seeing a lot of her photos posted on Facebook, including some great maternity shots of her pregnant sister I asked her if she would be so kind as to come shoot some of me. She very happily agreed and I'm so glad she did because the pictures I've seen so far are awesome!

She came over and took a bunch of photos of me in the still-a-work-in-progress nursery, some in the front of our house and a lot in the woods and down by the water behind our house. I can't wait to get a few of these framed and put in the nursery.

I think this is one of the more flattering shots of me. I think it's funny how my belly is veering to the left a bit. I guess he was moving around at the time.

While we were taking pictures in the nursery, Halpert kept coming in to watch and at one point he jumped in the glider and was posed so perfectly so we couldn't resist getting a few pictures with my furbaby. Based on his facial expression I think that he's thinking "Are you sure I won't be the baby anymore mom?"

I love this shot because it reminds me of one of our wedding photos where the photographer caught us kissing through the trees in a very similar pose.

This will probably go in the nursery.

This is another favorite that I want to put in the nursery.

We were joking that this is the closest that I get to camping.

Love this shot as well. That's our front door behind me and a rose from our garden.

This is another favorite! And you get a sneak peek at the crib and bedding in the nursery. The little bear in the crib was Kristian's as a child.

These are just some of the photos she posted on Facebook. Check out her Facebook page if you want to see some of her other work, or if you live in Northern VA and needs a photographer.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T11:01:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween!! I'm so excited to actually get some trick or treaters tonight. I always love seeing the kids (especially the little ones) dressed up. When we lived in the condo we never got any trick or treaters but we now live in a community FULL of kids so tonight should be fun. And while we did buy pumpkins we totally slacked on actually carving them. Maybe if Kristian gets home early enough he'll do one.

We were lame this year and didn't go out to celebrate even though I had the perfect costume idea if we had--- I would wear some thrift store wedding dress that would highlight my belly and he would wear a wife beater, bow tie and carry a shotgun and we would be a 'shotgun wedding'. But alas we stayed in most of the weekend due in part to the lousy weather Mother Nature threw our way. Umm Snow in October? What?!

Tonight however I believe Kristian and Moxie plan on doing a daddy/fur-daughter costume to answer the door that may involve some headgear.

Yep I live with these two jokers.

I'm more excited for next year and dressing the little one up in some costume that will surely embarrass him in 20 years when we show his future wife. Maybe something like this:

Mr. T!!!!!

**Someone posted this on Facebook so not sure who to credit**

Hope everyone has a very happy Halloween!!

**Tomorrow I'll post some pictures from my maternity photo session yesterday. They look awesome!

31 Weeks

2011-10-27T10:36:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 31 weeks

Here's a picture of me today at 31 weeks. I realized when going through my phone I wore this same shirt for the picture I took at 28 weeks which I reposted below. Look how much I've grown in 3 short weeks!! Unbelievable! No wonder I'm measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule! I'm honestly scared to see what I'm going to look like full term.

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of four navel oranges (really? That's such a lame comparison, they couldn't think of anything better than that?)

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds and is heading into a growth spurt (Good Lord, like I'm not big enough already). He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +23 pounds approximately. Started out at around 104, I'm now up to around 127 depending on the day.

Maternity Clothes: Still stretching some non maternity shirts to their breaking point (see picture above) but I prefer maternity clothes, I just wish I had more, I'm already sick of wearing the same stuff over and over but hate to spend the money on something I'll only wear for another two months.

Gender: Baby Boy! Which we reconfirmed at the 4D ultrasound.

Movement: He's started doing more rolling action now than just kicks. He kicks so hard I can literally see the outside of my belly jump.

What I miss: Being able to just move my body the way I used to. Bending over has become the biggest challenge.

Sleep: Not great but I'm actually getting used to the lack of sleep which I guess is the point of all these middle of the night bathroom trips. I'm definitely learning to function on less sleep already.

Symptoms: Backaches (all day long!), braxton hicks contractions throughout the day (though not painful), and I've started feeling nauseous on and off again like I did in my first trimester (though not as severe). I'm hoping that's not a symptom that plans to come back permanently. Ugh!

Cravings: Mainly liquids, I'm thirsty all the time.

Best Moment this week: Definitely the 4D ultrasound and seeing our little guy's handsome face. Also, watching Kristian's face as he got to see his son which was priceless.

What I am looking forward to: One of my sorority sisters who is starting a photography business is coming over this weekend to take some maternity pictures.

Two Months

2011-10-26T10:23:00.001-04:00

My due date is exactly two months from today! Holy Crap! Granted the odds of him coming on his own on his actual due date aren't very high but it's still amazing to me that in approximately 60 days or so I'm going to have a little person to take care of. I just hope that this little guy isn't impatient like his father and decide to be born two months early ---Kristian was supposed to be a Dec. baby but decided he liked the month of October better for his birthday.

The first 20 weeks seemed to drag, dealing with the all day nausea of the first trimester than not-so-patiently waiting to find out the gender. But every since then time has been flying by at warp speed and the weekends are over before they even start.

My nesting instinct has kicked into full gear. Even though we plan to keep the baby in our room at first I have this overwhelming desire to get his nursery done NOW. After all once he's here we won't have the time or energy to work on the nursery so I'd rather have it set and ready to go. Kristian doesn't seem to understand this urgency I have and why I get annoyed when he won't help me with something the second I ask for his help.

Unfortunately I do need his help with a lot of things, it's getting harder and harder everyday to complete even the smallest tasks. I have this growing to-do list but lack the energy to actually do anything on the list. And this constant backache makes any kind of extended physical activity nearly impossible.

As excited as I am to meet and snuggle this little dude I plan on enjoying these last two months or so of this pregnancy as best I can, after all who knows if or when I'll get to do this again.

Best Face in the World

2011-10-24T10:38:00.000-04:00

The 4D ultrasound on Saturday was amazing. I'm so so happy that I splurged to get one and it was a nice treat for Kristian to see his little boy on his birthday.

We also were able to re-confirm that we are in fact having a little boy. That was the first thing the tech checked for us, which was a huge relief or I would have spent my weekend returning a LOT of clothes!

We got a CD of 230 pictures and a DVD of the entire ultrasound which are such amazing keepsakes to have. We got to see him smile, open and close his eyes and mouth and move around, it was so cool. He's no longer a little blob or skeletor he actually looks like a real baby. Very surreal.

Below are just a few of the pictures of my son. We can see that he already has some dark hair and big hands and feet like his daddy. He also has his daddy's lips and I think my nose and chin. In my totally
unbiased opinion of course, I think he's the cutest baby ever!

*I labeled some of the pictures to give a better of idea of what we're looking at*

*We got a couple little smirks out of him. Towards the end though he started to look pissed, I think he was over the whole viewing party and wanted to sleep in peace.*

*Love his little pointer finger*

*I think he has really big feet, just like his daddy. Hopefully that means he'll be tall like his daddy as well*

*The little braided looking thing he's cuddling is the umbilical cord. Kristian looks similar when he sleeps*

*He was all scrunched up, looks like a tight fit in there, poor guy*

*Yep I'm in love*

That explains a lot

2011-10-21T11:49:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I had my now once every two weeks appointment with my doctor. First let me say I really like my doctor, actually the practice I go to has 3 OB's each of whom I've met and liked though the one I saw yesterday is probably my favorite.

Anyways, after doing the standard measuring of my belly we discovered I'm measuring two weeks ahead! For those that don't know, once you get to a certain point your doc will measure your belly each visit from top to bottom vertically, ideally the measurement in centimeters should match the number of weeks you are ex: 28 weeks = 28 cm. Well I'm 30 weeks measuring 32cm. The doctor is not concerned, he said 2 weeks in either direction is fine, if it's more than 2 then they will usually do an ultrasound to see what's going on.

So it's not like I will deliver 2 weeks early or that the baby is really big, necessarily. It could just be that I have a lot of fluid in there right now, or the way he's positioned could be making my belly stick out more. But at least it was confirmation that I am in fact a bit bigger than I really should be, which I already suspected. But as the doc pointed out, I'm petite, not much room for the baby to spread out in there so I'm bound to look a bit bigger.

I also learned that what I thought was the baby just poking his head or tush out a bit is really a braxton hicks contraction. For a while now I've been getting these two hard spots on my belly throughout the day, one on the leftside of my belly button which I thought might be his head or shoulder and one on the right side under my ribs which I thought might be his butt.

While measuring my tummy I noticed the hard spots and asked my doc if he could determine what body parts they were. He confirmed the one on my right was probably in fact his butt but that the baby's head is already head down where it should be and the other hard spot isn't his head but in fact my uterus having a braxton hick contraction, he could literally feel the contraction happening. He said that since they aren't painful I don't need to be concerned. If they start to get painful and happen more than 6 times in an hour I need to call them. So for weeks now I've been having these contractions and not even knowing it!

Everything else at the appointment went really well and when I go back in two weeks I'll be getting a Flu shot (which I normally don't do) and the Pertussis vaccine which will help protect the baby since he won't be able to get one himself until he's a bit older, but the antibodies he gets from me should protect him until that point which is good because that can be very deadly for newborns. Sidenote- my mom remembers having Pertussis (aka whooping cough) as a child and said it was horrible and she can't imagine a newborn having it. Ah the joys of having a baby during the winter when everyone gets sick.

30 Weeks

2011-10-20T11:09:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 30 weeks

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a head of cabbage.

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +20-22 pounds approximately. I'm still hoping I don't gain more than 30 pounds just because it's getting harder and harder for me to carry around all this extra weight I'm not use to.

Maternity Clothes: A mix but more maternity than regular just because they are more comfortable. I'm starting to worry I may outgrow even a few maternity tops, hopefully I don't need to do another round of shopping before he arrives.

Gender: Baby Boy!

Movement: Yep, it seems there is a constant dance party happening in my uterus and his movements are getting stronger and stronger. This is the one part I'm really going to miss once he's here, I've gotten so use to his movements it will be weird not having them anymore.

What I miss: not having my back hurt constantly

Sleep: Okay, not great, still getting up a lot to pee

Symptoms: Lots of backaches and basic discomfort. I've been trying to do my prenatal yoga DVD more but so far it hasn't helped much.

Cravings: Nothing in particular.

Best Moment this week: Hitting the 30's! Only about 10 weeks left which is amazing to me. Also, we may have finally decided on a name, though I'm still not telling just in case we decide to change it at the last minute.

What I am looking forward to: Doing the 3D/4D ultrasound on Saturday, I can't wait to see little man's face! Hopefully it will look less skeletor than it did at 20 weeks!

Guessing Game

2011-10-19T11:06:00.002-04:00

When it comes to gift giving, especially in regards to my husband, I have the hardest time keeping whatever the gift is a secret. I get so excited and just want to give it to them or tell them about it immediately. Kristian is much the same way, which is why he ended up proposing sooner than he initially planned.

Well this Saturday is Kristian's birthday and after a moment of inspiration a month ago when I figured out the perfect gift for him I've been dying to let him know what it is. I kept asking him if I could just tell him and he said that he wanted to be surprised. Well yesterday while on the phone at work he started asking for clues as to what his present is. It's his birthday week so close enough.

He already knew that his present involved us going someplace and some of his guesses were pretty humorous for example he guessed Skydiving...umm why would I want him jumping out of a plane to his potential death right before giving birth (he was relieved this wasn't it). He also guessed painting pottery! Umm what?! Again very happy that wasn't it. He then guessed that I was going to take him the gun range to shoot a bunch of really cool guns for the day. I told him that wasn't it but that's a cool idea and maybe I'll do it next year.

One of the best clues I gave him was that it was something that I could probably only give him this year for his birthday. That really got the wheels turning but he still couldn't figure it out. Finally I told him I had one last clue that would most likely give it away and asked him if he wanted it or if he wanted to wait until Saturday and be surprised. He asked for the last clue which was "it involves the baby" and immediately he knew what it was and got very excited.

Any ideas what his present is?

Well this Saturday for his birthday I'm taking him with me to get an elective 3D/4D ultrasound of the baby so that we can hopefully get a good peek at what our son looks like. Since we most likely won't be getting one through my doctor's office I found a few places online that offer this service for a fee and signed us up. We get a 20 minute session including a CD of photos and a DVD of the ultrasound. **Note- these places only offer ultrasounds for gender determination and 3D/4D ultrasounds for fun, they will not diagnose any potential problems with the baby and reinforce that you need to still get ultrasounds through your doctors office.

I decided to do this as his gift for a few reasons:

1. When he found out that our Anatomy scan ultrasound would only be 2D and they only do 3D ultrasounds if there is a problem, he was a bit disappointed and mentioned how cool he thought the 3D ones were.

2. As I told him, this is probably the only time I'll be able to do this for his birthday, even if we have another kid who knows if I'll be pregnant or far enough along during his birthday to do a 3D ultrasound.

3. What better gift for his birthday than getting to take a peek at his son's little face? I can buy him hunting and fishing shit anytime.

4. I'm not gonna lie I REALLY wanted to do this too so it's kind of a joint gift :)

Needless to say we're both really excited and I just hope baby boy cooperates so that we can get some good photos of his face. Assuming we do I will of course be posting them next week. And who knows maybe seeing his face will help inspire us to finally pick a name for him!

Baby School

2011-10-17T10:45:00.000-04:00

The hospital I'm planning to deliver at offers several classes for expectant parents through their Wellness Center and last week Kristian and I took two of their classes.

On Wednesday night we went to the 2 1/2 hour Baby Care Basics class which is taught by a registered nurse. As the name implies the class teaches you the basics of how to care for a newborn baby including diapering, feeding, bathing, dressing etc. Since the class is only 2 1/2 hours long there isn't time to go into too much detail but it's a nice overview for first time parents. Most of the stuff she went over I had read about or heard about but I did learn a few new things. For instance- with breast milk the babies will poop more but the poop doesn't really smell, with formula they poop less but it stinks more. So even though I am hoping to breastfeed we got into a debate about which would be worse, more poop that doesn't smell or less poop that does. What do you think?

We also had the chance to practice diapering and swaddling a baby doll. The teacher actually complimented me on my swaddling technique. Kristian told her we had been practicing on our cat (true story) and the teacher thought that was awesome and couldn't stop laughing. Hey whatever works right? We were both very pleased with the class and definitely walked away more knowledgeable.

This past weekend we took the Childbirth Prep Class which many people know as Lamaze class. We had the option of spreading this out over 5 weeks- one night a week or knock it out in a weekend- 5 hours each day. We went with the weekend option and even though it sucks to give up a weekend I'm glad we did it all at once.

This class teaches you all about childbirth including labor, birth, breathing, relaxation, medication, C-sections and post partum. This is also taught by a registered nurse who had worked in Labor and Delivery for 25 years and had 4 kids herself (two naturally and unmedicated and two C-sections) so she knew her shit.

The first day was more of a general overview and introduction of things and we learned a few breathing techniques. The second day got into more specific, nitty gritty stuff and we got to watch several videos including one where we watched a birth- from the end you usually don't want to see it from. We ended the class with more relaxation and breathing techniques and your partner learns different coaching techniques to help you with.

Overall we really enjoyed the class despite having to miss the Redskins game yesterday (they lost so it was probably better we missed it). We learned a LOT of information and I really liked how the nurse talked about so many different birth options, not just one, so that we are fully informed of our options and what we can/should ask for. I think the class did alleviate a lot of my fear and uncertainty about the labor process and I feel much more prepared for labor/birth regardless of which option I go with.

Most of all I think Kristian really benefited from these classes. I've been reading a LOT online and in books about this stuff and even though he knows quite a bit already I know he learned so much more and now feels confident that he can help coach me through this. He was a great student and asked both teachers lots of good questions and was a very active participant. He's going to be such a good dad, he's so excited about meeting his son.

I highly recommend taking any classes you can prior to having a baby that you think may be helpful, for me it has helped ease some of my anxiety and increased my confidence level. It will also help you make informed decisions about yours and your babies care which is priceless.

Share time- did/will you take any classes before having a baby?

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-14T10:52:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday after a quick stop at my in-laws we decided to take advantage of the beautiful fall day and stop by a pumpkin patch that is close to our house. We plan to actually carve a pumpkin or two this year since we finally live someplace where we can expect a good number of trick-or-treaters. Moxie was with us so we had to get a couple pictures of her first trip to the pumpkin patch.

She was a bit too excited to sit still.

Shorts and t-shirts in Oct. gotta love warm fall weather.

It looks like I'm trying to smuggle a pumpkin out under my shirt.

I think my belly is bigger than the pumpkin I'm holding.

We didn't stay very long since we had the dog with us but it was a nice little trip and I'm excited to carve some pumpkins this year and get a bit more into the Halloween spirit.

29 Weeks

2011-10-13T10:57:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 29 weeks

*Last night I met a woman in our Baby Care class due 3 days after me, my bump is WAY bigger than hers. Actually mine was bigger than some of the ladies due in Nov.*

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a Butternut Squash

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +20 pounds approximately. I think about 15 pounds are in my belly and the other 5 are in my ass/thighs.

Maternity Clothes: Still a mix, today I'm wearing non maternity jeans with a belly band and a maternity top.

Gender: Baby Boy!

Movement: ALL. THE. TIME. He also loves to give me little hard spots all over my belly from where he's sticking out what I imagine is either his ass or his head or both.

What I miss: Eating chicken. I've had a strong aversion ever since getting pregnant which has made cooking really hard since most of the (few) recipes I know all involve chicken. Hopefully I'll like it again once he comes out.

Sleep: I've actually slept really well this week! Last night I slept so well I only woke up once to pee which hasn't happened in about 7 months.

Symptoms: Backaches and basic discomfort. But the good news is my skin is finally clearing up so I feel like I'm finally getting that pregnancy "glow" I've heard so much about rather than just pimples.

Cravings: Last night on the way home from our class (at 10pm) I was desperate for a McDonalds chocolate milkshake but of course by 10pm their ice cream machines were down. I think Kristian feared for both his and the cashiers life.

Best Moment this week: My babyshower and visit with Kristen. Also, I passed my Glucose Test I took last week!!! So I can still eat sugar which means the holidays won't be torture. Also, taking our Baby Care class last night which I'll do a separate post on.

What I am looking forward to: Hopefully organizing and putting away all our shower gifts. Also, our childbirth prep aka Lamaze class this weekend. Should be interesting.

Shower Recap Part 2- Friends, Games and Gifts

2011-10-12T10:58:00.000-04:00

We had a pretty good turnout for the shower, I think we invited around 30 people and about 15 or so came. Most of my friends live out of state so I knew there was a good chance a lot of them wouldn't be able to make it. That was the only disappointing part but since I know how hard it is to travel for events I understood. It actually worked out great, our house is a good size but still not big enough to accommodate a really large crowd, we were able to fit everybody in comfortably and thank God we had the perfect fall weather (sunny and 70's) so that people could spill out onto the deck.

Below are some pictures of the guests.

Here I am with Kristen, Colleen and Kelli. We are all in the same sorority (actually Kelli and I went to high school together as well). Both Kristen and Kelli have 1 year old little boys so I'm excited to join the club!

Here I am with Kristen's son Smith, cutest dude at the party! He really did well and all the ladies couldn't get enough of him.

Here's a pic with my mom and brother. My mom is very excited about her first grandson (she already has two grand-daughters) and my brother can't wait to buy boy toys for his first nephew.

My friend Colleen took charge of the baby shower games. The first game was actually suggested by Kristian. Everyone donated a dollar and got a raffle ticket where they wrote their name and their guess for the day and time that the baby will arrive. Whoever ends up closest will win the pot. I believe the dates ranged from Dec. 13th to Dec. 29th. (My due date is Dec. 26th)

We also played the game where everyone got a ball of yarn and had to cut a piece of yarn based on how big they thought my belly was around. We actually had a tie, my aunt and cousin were almost dead on. Everyone else WAY overestimated my size. Thanks ladies!

We also had a baby themed word scramble and baby themed Mad Libs where everyone had to fill in the blanks about their thoughts and wishes for the baby (unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of that). Everyone apparently thinks the baby will look like his daddy. Again Thanks Ladies!

Below are ac couple pictures from the games.

*check out Moxie and Smith eyeballing the lollipops. Partners in crime*

Now onto the gifts. Everyone was so generous and we couldn't be more thankful. Between the shower gifts, presents we received prior and items we've been able to borrow from friends we're almost completely set for our little man's arrival. The only big item we still need is a glider and then some smaller stuff like bottles and extra crib sheets etc.

Below are pictures of just some of the great gifts we received.

My aunt (the lady in the chair next to me) made this Christmas stocking for our little guy. It's in the VA Tech colors (where Kristian went to school). We said if the next one is a girl she'll get a purple and gold stocking for ECU. My Aunt has made everyone in our family (including Kristian- his is a camo hunting boot) our own knit stocking so I was psyched that our son will have one too!

My other aunt gave us a bunch of bibs and blankets she made as well including the camo blanket below. This way the baby will fit in when hanging out downstairs in the man cave.

We got a lot of soft blankets which is nice since we're having a winter baby. I can't wait to cuddle him in these.

How cute is this little robe? When I showed it to Kristian he was like "Oh My God we're having a baby" Something about seeing the little robe made it real to him. Apparently my Ginormous belly hadn't tipped him off yet.

We got a lot of cute little onesies and outfits, that tupperware bin is full of clothes from my mom. People always talk about how cute little girls clothes are but boys clothes are freaking adorable in my opinion.

We now have a little Christmas outfit just in case he comes a few days early. Depending on when he comes this may be his coming home outfit.

We also got a lot of bibs, this one says "My dad is cooler than your dad" Love it! Also, Kristen gave us my favorite bib that says "These two dumbasses put my cape on backwards" hahaha (unfortunately I don't have a picture of that one)

Here is Kristian's diaper bag, we each wanted our own and he wanted something a bit smaller and more manly. This was one of his favorite gifts.

Here is my diaper bag, I wanted a bag that looked more purse like. I think it's really cute!

My mom got us our crib bedding that we wanted from Target. I can't wait to see how this looks all setup in the nursery.

The two ladies that helped as my wedding day coordinators chipped in and bought us our baby monitors!!!

My brother bought us our high chair. Kristian picked this one out, he liked the silver and thought it would go well in our dining room.

We got a lot of other great gifts but I didn't want to post 50 pictures. Now we just have to figure out where to put everything!!

So there you have it. My shower was awesome and full of lots of love and everyone is so excited to meet his little guy....me especially!!!!

Shower Recap Part 1- Decor and Food

2011-10-11T10:07:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned my shower this past weekend was wonderful. Truly even better than I expected. A number of people helped make the shower a success- my mother who paid for all the food, my mother-in-law who made an amazing diaper wreath and diaper cake, my good friend Colleen who took charge of the games and prizes, my other good friend Kristen who came up with the theme and designed almost all of the decor herself as well as prepared much of the food and my fabulous husband who helped coordinate everything with everyone as well as helped setup the day of. I can't thank everyone enough!

I decided to split up the shower recap into two parts so that I'm not posting 100 pictures in one post. This post I'll show you the food and decor.

First up though here is a picture of what I wore. I really wanted to wear a blue dress in honor of our baby boy. It was surprisingly difficult to find a cute, blue maternity dress that was affordable. Fortunately I found one I loved at JC Penney of all places. I thought it was very cute and super comfortable. It also matched the ring Kristian bought me and the decor!

My mother-in-law very excitedly made us a diaper wreath full of goodies for the baby which hung outside on the front door. I plan to hang it on the door of the nursery until he arrives and then we'll disassemble it to use everything.

She also made a HUGE diaper cake. When I first saw it I couldn't believe how big it was or how much stuff she included. It's full of onesies, bibs, socks, and a few of Kristian's baby items she still had. It's so cute I don't want to take it apart! We plan to keep it together until closer to his due date.

As I mentioned Kristen made a lot of the decor. For those that don't know she has a side business designing all sorts of paper goods and party decorations and does a great job. All of my family was really impressed with the decorations. Check out her website- http://www.littlelawsprints.com/ (All the proceeds from her sales go straight into her son's college fund)

The overall theme of the shower was the Circus. Such a cute idea!

Here is the banner she made to hang on our mantle.

She also setup a little photobooth. If you click on the picture you can see in the frame what the invitations looked like. These were some of the props to use in the photobooth. Unfortunately most of our older guests didn't really get the whole photobooth thing (guess they don't read blogs) but we still got some cute pictures with it.

Here I am with Colleen and Kristen. You can't have a party without mustaches!

Here are the two backdrops for the photobooth.

After Kristian helped setup we took a quick picture before he left to go hunting for the day. I loved this little backdrop with the cut outs. So fun!

Here's Kristen and her son Smith. How cute is this?!

She also made jars full of dyed sugar (yes she DYED sugar) with lollipops and gumballs stuck inside. She also decorated the table with raffle tickets which we used for one of the games.

She also made these super cute cupcake toppers to match the theme.

Here is the food spread, we had veggie and cheese trays, fruit salad, chips and dip, meatballs, a really good pizza appetizer (that I need the recipe for!), popcorn and cupcakes. We also had ice tea, lemonade and wine for the drinks.

So as you can see everything looked awesome! I was so excited and overwhelmed when I walked in and saw the setup. It really was everything I could have wanted and more and all of the guests were super impressed and are still talking about what a great time they had.

Tomorrow I'll post about the baby shower games and gifts we received. Our little boy is so loved and spoiled already!

Weekend full of friends, fun and baby practice

2011-10-09T20:52:00.001-04:00

The baby shower this past weekend was awesome! It was even better than I could have hoped thanks to the help of my wonderful husband, my mother, my mother-in-law and my good friends Colleen and Kristen. In addition to the amazing shower I got to spend the weekend with Kristen and her little boy Smith. I haven't seen Kristen since her baby shower over a year ago so it was so much fun being able to catch up in person and have a little boy in the house. Best practice ever for our little guy on the way.

I have to say that Kristen's son Smith is such a sweet, cute and well behaved little boy. Given that he was in a brand new environment with people he'd never met he did an amazing job and was such a pleasure to have around. The best part for me was seeing Kristian and Smith interact. The first time they met Smith walked over to Kristian and gave him a big hug, after that they were buddies. Kristian had a lot of fun watching him run around and play. He said it makes him even more excited for our little guy to arrive.

Smith was also a big fan of our puppy Moxie. They are BFF's for life. Not sure who had more fun or who was more tired at the end of the weekend Smith or Moxie. It was also nice to see how Moxie will do with a little one in the house, thankfully it seems like she will be a great big sister to the baby.

Here is one of my favorite pictures from the weekend of Kristian holding Moxie and Smith. I can't think of anything cuter than seeing my husband holding a puppy and a baby. He's going to be such a great dad, total natural.

I plan to do a full recap of the shower including pictures of the amazing decorations and food and gifts but I wanted to just do a quick shout-out and thank you to Kristen especially, who came up with the theme and designed almost all of the decor herself. I know I've mentioned her business before but seriously if you ever need any kind of paper goods or decorations contact her immediately, everything she did for my shower was amazing and everyone was very impressed.

Kristen- thank you for making the trip up North to help celebrate Baby P, you really made the day/weekend so special and we can't thank you enough!!

After a long day of celebrating Kristen and Moxie got in some cuddle time.

28 Weeks

2011-10-06T11:26:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 28 weeks (Third Trimester!)

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a head of a Chinese cabbage.

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +18-20 pounds approximately. At my doctor's appointment this morning I was 20 pounds over my starting weight but I was also fully dressed.

Maternity Clothes: Both, everything I'm wearing today is stuff I had pre-pregnancy but I do love my maternity clothes.

Gender: Baby Boy!

Movement: Lots and lots of movement throughout the day and night. I hope he's not getting too claustrophobic in there.

What I miss: Not having to struggle to get up whenever I sit or lay down.

Sleep: The last two nights have actually been pretty good!

Symptoms: Backaches and lots of round ligament pain this week which I hadn't had too much of as of yet but my doc confirmed that's probably what I've been feeling lately.

Cravings: Same as last week, just craving liquids more than food.

**I had my glucose test this morning. The drink really wasn't that bad though I did feel a bit nauseous afterwards simply from drinking it so fast but the taste wasn't horrible. I should get results tomorrow or Monday. Also, I'm measuring a week ahead but the doctor said that's fairly normal**

Best Moment this week: Entering my third trimester!!! I can't believe I only have about 3 months left, it's going FAST! Also, buying the car seat/stroller combo.

What I am looking forward to: My baby shower this weekend and Kristen and her little man Smith flying in tomorrow. I haven't seen her since her baby shower over a year ago! We're also taking a baby prep class next week (which teaches you about caring for a newborn) which I'm actually excited about.

Tis the Season

2011-10-05T15:59:00.000-04:00

When I was finally able to convince Kristian to have a baby we never really discussed our preference for the time of year we would like for the child to be born in. After all it takes a lot of couples many months or even longer to conceive (and I didn't think we would be any different, we got very lucky in that respect) so most people don't really get to pick the time of year their child is born, they take what they can get. I do know that some couples will take a month or two off from TTC (trying to conceive) in order to avoid having a Christmas baby or having the child born during a certain time of year that may be inconvenient for them.

Well I was so excited when Kristian finally agreed to "just see what happens" when I just happened to be ovulating that I didn't count ahead and realize that if it did happen to work that month we might end up with a Christmas baby. Lo and behold two weeks later I was pregnant and looking at an estimated due date of Dec. 26th. Now if given the choice in a perfect world I would not choose for my child to be born around Christmas. From everyone I've talked to with a birthday around Christmas they think it more or less sucks reindeer balls. But not much I can do about it now except try to make his birthday as special as possible each year.

With all that said I have to admit I am happy to be having a winter baby in general. There are definitely pros and cons to having a winter baby but for me the pros currently outweigh the cons. Let's take a look at my handy little list:

Cons-
*Having a birthday right around the holidays (this isn't an issue for later winter babies born in Jan/Feb)
*Having to potentially drive to the hospital in a blizzard (fortunately we don't get many of those and my husband has 4 wheel drive)
*Making sure any visitors don't get the baby sick during the height of cold/flu season

Pros-
*Not having to be 9 months pregnant at the height of the summer which would be even more uncomfortable
*I don't foresee wanting to go out much during the 1st six weeks anyway and being that it will be cold and potentially snowy I won't feel bad about staying inside. If it were nice weather I would hate being stuck indoors.
*I will have about 5-6 months to get back into some sort of shape before bathing suit weather
*I will be 8 months pregnant at Thanksgiving which means I don't have to worry about the first trimester nausea/food aversions during the holidays and can still enjoy my meals.
*Jan/Feb is a fairly slow time for me at work so my boss was pretty happy about the timing.

So despite the whole Christmas birthday part of it I'm kinda glad the timing worked out for us to have a winter baby even if we didn't exactly plan it that way.

Share time- what were the pros/cons about the time of year your kid was/will be born?

Riding in style

2011-10-04T11:00:00.002-04:00

On Sunday Kristian and I headed to Babies R Us to make a pretty big purchase. We ended up buying our car seat and stroller combo. Initially we had registered for a travel system (a different one than we ended up buying) but decided to go ahead and get it ourselves because we needed to have a car seat for this weekend when my favorite Florida resident and her handsome little man come up for my baby shower!! P.S. SOOOOO excited to see her! To save Kristen from having to lug Smith's car seat up here with her I figured why not go ahead and just get ours now since we need one anyway, then Smith can help break it in for our little one!

We hadn't planned to buy the stroller this past weekend but there happened to be a sale going on the one we liked which was for $75 off if you bought them both at the same time and with my $50 gift card that my mom gave me for my birthday we got a great deal on both!

Here is what our little guy will be riding in once he arrives:

S1 by Safety 1st onBoard35 Air Infant Car Seat - McKenna

S1 by Safety 1st Trivecta Stroller - Mckenna

When we got home we put the stroller together (which was really easy) and played around with both. While Kristian tried to figure out how to get the car seat out of the base I tried to figure out how to fold and unfold the stroller. We looked like total first time parents (who apparently don't like to read directions).

We both love the set, the black and grey is gender neutral so it could work if our next kid is a girl, it looks good in both of our cars (we both have silver cars) and just has a really sleek, cool look to it (so Kristian can still feel cool pushing a stroller).

We're so excited to see our little guy in these in a few short months!

27 Weeks

2011-09-29T10:43:00.001-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 27 weeks

*Wearing maternity leggings and a maternity top aka the most comfortable outfit in the world*

*If you zoom in on the front faced picture you may even see my belly button poking out...yep it's starting to poke out!*

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a head of cauliflower (finally a veggie I recognize)

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +16 pounds approximately.

Maternity Clothes: I just got some more maternity clothes last night that I had ordered from Old Navy. I still wear a mix of both but I prefer my maternity clothes which fit me a lot better right now.

Gender: Boy parts

Movement: Still a lot of movement throughout the day and night. If he's this active one the outside I'm not going to get much sleep. Also, there will be times when part of my tummy will be really hard and poke out from one of his body parts, it's cool and weird.

What I miss: Not much, I'm getting pretty used to this pregnancy thing, the good and the bad parts.

Sleep: Meh. Not great. Even Kristian has started waking up more, it's like his body knows to train him for less sleep too.

Symptoms: Still lots of backaches and overall discomfort especially at the end of the day. My belly button has started poking out on one side. Not sure the full thing will become an outtie but the edges are poking out.

Cravings: Not really craving any foods in particular just drinks. I'm thirsty a lot more now than pre-pregnancy.

Best Moment this week: Painting the nursery, we still have a lot to do but it's so exciting to start working on it and coming up with ideas. So far it looks really good!

What I am looking forward to: Working on the nursery more this weekend and getting the house in order for the baby shower next week! Also, starting my third trimester next week!!

What I'm NOT look forward to: Taking my Glucose Tolerance Test next Thursday. Keep your fingers crossed that I pass!!

What's in a Name?

2011-09-27T10:56:00.000-04:00

I am now officially less than 3 months from my due date! And while a lot of people have their child's name picked out as soon as they find out the gender (or get that positive pregnancy test) I must admit our child is still nameless.

Yes we've discussed names, in fact there is one name that we both like and is the current front runner, however I seem to be completely commitment-phobic when it comes to choosing this little guy's name. Even though I do like the name we've discussed I'm still not 100% sold on it and feel like maybe there is a better name out there that I just haven't heard or considered yet. In addition to a couple names I do actually like better but would need to persuade Kristian on.

Naming a kid is hard. At least for me it is. There is just so much to consider. Firstly you need to make sure the name doesn't have any obvious, God-awful, mean nicknames attached to it. I also want a name that is transitional and will be cute for a little boy but also cool for a teenager and then professional when he's an adult. There are a ton of really cute little kid names but then when you imagine them as a 40 year old adult the names are just too cutesy and young sounding. Oh and of course you need to make sure that your partner likes the name too, which is easier said than done.

So to be honest I don't know if our kids name will be 100% decided before he gets here. And here's the thing, even if it is chosen before he arrives we aren't telling anyone the name (this is driving my MIL CRAZY!!!). We aren't sharing the name or even ones we're actively considering for a few reasons:

1. It's hard enough for us to agree on a name without having to factor in other people's positive or negative opinions. Whenever we do finally decide on a name I don't want us to question our choice if someone doesn't like the name. Once babies are here most people keep their mouths shut in regards to disliking a name.

2. I, personally, find it more exciting to find out the name when the kid is born. Especially if everyone already knows the gender, keeping the name a secret adds a little bit to the anticipation for family and friends. Plus it's fun to have something to torture our parents with ;-)

3. I want the option to change the name at the last minute. This goes back to my commitment phobia about the name. Once you announce the name (prior to the birth) people have a tendency to start buying personalized items for the baby, which is awesome, unless you decide at the last minute to change the name for whatever reason. Then you could be stuck with a lot of clothes that say Alex when you end up with a Joe. Now if you're one of those people that knows beyond a shadow of a doubt what you want the name to be then buy away but again I just don't think I'm one of those people.

So that's where we stand with the name for those that are wondering.

For those with kids already, did you have the name picked out before the baby arrived?

Did/Will you keep the baby's name a surprise until it's born?

Weekend Highlights

2011-09-26T10:43:00.000-04:00

--Started painting the baby's room! We still have a lot to do but so far we both like the main color we picked.

--While at Lowe's getting the paint the cashier told me I looked very big and asked if I was having twins. Kristian didn't know whether to laugh or tell her off, it was the first time he's been there when someone has said something stupid like that.

--In order to paint we had to move a lot of the baby stuff out of the room, we put the bassinet we got from a friend in our bedroom by the window. Last night our cat Halpert slept in it. All Night.

--Kristian's best friend came over Saturday to watch football and normally he just brings beer when he comes over, this time he hooked up the pregnant lady with some Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Brownie ice cream. I didn't feel like I needed to share it either, after all, I'm not drinking their beer am I?

--My Sister-In-Law decided to clean out her closet and I scored some new clothes, some of which I can even wear now and a new Tory Burch and Coach purse. It's nice having a SIL that only buys name brand, especially since I basically only buy Target, Old Navy, Forever 21.

--While at my Mother-in-laws house going through the clothes she showed me the diaper wreath and diaper cake she made for my baby shower in two weeks. They are both SOOOO cute. She did an amazing job and the cake is HUGE and loaded with baby goodies that she used to decorate it. I told her I almost don't want to take it apart to use the stuff but rather just keep it as decoration in the nursery.

--I spent most of my weekend trying to play catch up on my DVR. Now that all of the fall shows are back my DVR is getting a work out.

--Kristian made a deer stew for dinner last night using defrosted meat from a deer he killed last year. I normally don't eat deer meat, not because it doesn't taste good. It actually tastes really good but it's a mental thing, I don't want to eat Bambi. Anyways, I did suck it up and have a couple bites of the deer meat because Kristian wanted his son to have some in the hopes that he'll like it once he's older. I think the baby liked it because he was kicking up a storm afterwards.

26 Weeks

2011-09-22T11:31:00.001-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 26 weeks

*This is the picture that Kristian took of me on Monday, I feel like I look a lot bigger in this picture than in real life.

P.S. How cute is Moxie???*

*Below are two pictures I took yesterday. I think this is more accurate of my belly size*

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of an English Hothouse Cucumber. *Really they couldn't think of anything else to compare it to? What is that anyway?*

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days. *Yeah I have testicles inside me. So weird!*

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +15 pounds approximately. I'm actually pretty satisfied with the amount of weight I've gained. I'm really hoping to not gain more than 30 pounds just because I am so small and think it will be really hard to carry much more than that. But I'm averaging about a pound or so a week like I should be.

Maternity Clothes: Still a mix of both but I prefer my maternity clothes, they are just SOOO much more comfortable, especially my leggings. I want to live in leggings.

Gender: Male...hence having testicles inside me.

Movement: Lots and lots of movement throughout the day and night. Last night I laid the remote on my belly and watched him kick it around.

What I miss: Not much this week.

Sleep: Better. Still waking up to pee 2-3 times but in between pee breaks I sleep well.

Symptoms: I'm pretty sure I had some braxton hicks contractions last weekend but fortunately nothing since. Otherwise lots of backaches and overall discomfort towards the end of the day.

Cravings: Ironically Wendy's chicken filet sandwiches (I've had two this week). It's ironic because I've had such a strong aversion to chicken this whole pregnancy.

Best Moment this week: Selling an old dresser and nightstand that was taking up room in the nursery on Craig's List. I'm so happy to have those pieces out of the house finally.

What I am looking forward to: FINALLY starting to paint the nursery this weekend. We were waiting to get those couple pieces of furniture out and now we have some extra cash from the sale to buy the paint. Also, my baby shower is in two weeks!!

Weighty Issues

2011-09-20T15:20:00.001-04:00

So in addition to my wonderful experience with the Target cashier this weekend thinking I was already 9 months pregnant, I posted a picture last night on Facebook that Kristian took of me and my oh-so loving brother commented "Are you sure you're not having twins?" Since he's my brother I can't get too upset after all teasing comes with the territory of having a sibling but I will say it did sting a bit a first.

In my pre-pregnancy days I could never understand when pregnant women would complain about gaining weight or their belly size, after all THAT'S what comes with pregnancy. You're not Fat, You're Pregnant! But now being on this size of the positive pregnancy test I get it. I do.

Seeing your body change so dramatically, over a relatively short period of time is a bit of a mind f*ck. Logically you know it's what's supposed to happen. It's GOOD that it's happening. But the immediate gut reaction when passing a mirror (at least for me) is "good God, I'm fat" or "I definitely need to work out tomorrow" etc. But then I have to stop and remind myself (or have my husband remind me) that I'm NOT fat, I'm Pregnant.

When I first got pregnant I was excited about getting bigger (especially my boobs God willing). I couldn't wait to have a bump and for people to be able to tell that I was pregnant...and for the most part I still get excited about it but it's also been a harder transition than I anticipated. I've been tiny my whole life. Gaining weight has actually been a challenge for me in the past (yes I know that sounds obnoxious but it's true) so this is really a complete change for me having to adjust my way of thinking about my body and how it looks and has been harder than I thought.

Don't get me wrong I'm THRILLED to be pregnant. I would gain 100 pounds if I had to in order to have a healthy baby. And even if I never completely lose all the baby weight it will be worth it in the end but the whole body image issue is tough at times and seeing how I've grown quite a lot over the past month alone I find that I am a bit more self conscious about my rate of growth and if I'm "normal". I can't help but compare myself to other women that are pregnant and due around the same time as me, which is so pointless because everybody grows differently when pregnant. So long as my doctor says my weight and belly size are okay that's all that matters.

Anyways, there really is no point to all this blabbering except to say that watching my body change has been amazing and exciting but also difficult and I think a lot of women are scared to admit that for fear of appearing ungrateful for their pregnancies. So for any of you other preggos out there that may be feeling self conscious about your growing bellies just know you are not alone.

It was bound to happen eventually...

2011-09-19T10:25:00.003-04:00

For those of you that are friends with me on Facebook you already heard about this.

On Saturday I went to Target to buy a gift for my friends son's first birthday. As I was checking out I had this conversation with the FEMALE cashier:

Cashier- "How are you today?"
Me- "Good, thanks"
Cashier- "And how is the baby today?" *gesturing towards my belly*
Me- "He's good too"
Cashier- "So when are you due? September? October?"
Me - *probably looking a bit stunned* "Umm no not until December" *I left off the part about being due Late December*
Cashier- "Are you sure?"
Me- "Yeah I'm pretty sure" <---- that's what I actually said. What I really WANTED to say was:
"No actually I'm not sure and my doctor with 30 years experience isn't sure either so I'm really glad that I have a cashier at Target to help me determine my actual due date based on my belly size alone...which by the way looks bigger because I'm all of 5 feet tall!"

Sigh.

I mean come on people, have some common sense. NEVER, NEVER, EVER assume someone's due date. Everyone grows differently and some people show more then others, faster than others. I would maybe expect this from a man (sorry men but it's true) but an older woman who probably has kids herself should know better. I know I'm really showing now but do I look 9 Months pregnant?? I doubt it. Next time just offer congratulations or tell the pregnant lady how good she looks.

Anyways I actually found the whole exchange more humorous than anything and knew eventually I would run into someone who would say something dumb like that.

And just for the record below are my pictures from weeks 22-25 (I missed my week 23 picture). Yes I've had a bit of a growth spurt but I still don't think I look 9 months pregnant! Sheesh!

25 Weeks

2011-09-15T10:41:00.002-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 25weeks

*So this is the dress I wore on my very first date with Kristian, however back then in my skinny days I wore it with a black belt cinching the waist. Funny that I can still wear it while pregnant with his child*

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a rutabaga.

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. His weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. He's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +13 pounds. Despite feeling like I look much further along than 6 months at my doctor's appointment yesterday he measured my belly and said I was right on track growth wise. He said I look bigger simply because I'm so petite so there isn't as much room for the belly to spread out.

Maternity Clothes: Still a mix of both. I prefer wearing dresses because I find that having anything slightly tight around my waist, even maternity pants is uncomfortable.

Gender: Still boy parts

Movement: This kid is a mover and a shaker. Honestly if it weren't for the 4 ultrasounds I've had I would be convinced I was carrying twins because I feel him all over the place.

What I miss: A good night sleep

Sleep: See above. My doc did say I could take some Benedryl at night to help me sleep so hopefully that will help.

Symptoms: Nothing new, same old same old.

Cravings: Still craving sweet tea

Best Moment this week: Well it's not pregnancy related but we were thinking we might have to put our oldest cat to sleep this week but luckily that's not the case, at least not for the time being.

What I am looking forward to: Getting to see my friend Kelli and her little boy this weekend at his first birthday party. I can't wait for our little guys to play together in the future.

Shiny Things

2011-09-13T12:33:00.000-04:00

Last week my husband surprised me with a very special gift. After I found out I was pregnant I ~~joked~~ mentioned to him about getting me a "push present" for after the baby is born. He thought I made up that term. I wish I were that creative!

I know a lot of people don't like the idea of a push present, after all having a healthy baby is the best present at the end of 9 months and I don't disagree with that one bit. But let's be real, pregnancy is no walk in the park and even though I haven't done it yet I suspect labor ain't no picnic either so why not get a little side gift from the father that is just for you? Fortunately for me Kristian agreed and had no problem with getting me a little something.

He asked me what I would like and I said I would really like to have a ring for my right hand in the baby's birthstone. Since our son is due in December his birthstone would be a blue topaz. However, the baby is due the 26th which means he could easily come late and end up with a January birthday in which case is birthstone would be a garnet. So with that in mind I told Kristian it was probably better to wait to get something until he's actually here or until we have a set delivery date.

Well Kristian decided he didn't want to wait and wanted to get and give me my present early. As he said "once the baby gets here, he'll overshadow any gift I could possibly get you"...he makes a good point. So he wanted me to have time to enjoy it, especially since I won't be wearing much jewelry during my maternity leave. So last week he presented me with this beautiful blue topaz ring which I LOOOOVE! My man has good taste in jewelry!

It actually looks much bigger in this picture. The size works well in comparison to my wedding ring set.

We decided that if baby boy ends up being born in January we'll just say the blue topaz represents the fact that we had a baby boy rather than the birthstone. And that means if our next child is a girl maybe I'll get some pink earrings :)

Did/Will you get some kind of "push" or baby gift?

24 weeks

2011-09-08T10:47:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 24 weeks

*That is not a maternity top and it was definitely working overtime to fit over my ever expanding belly*

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of an ear of corn.

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +12 pounds. I've never weighed this much in my life and it's odd seeing those number on the scale but guess I need to get used to it.

Maternity Clothes: Still primarily regular clothes. My mom took me shopping for maternity clothes last weekend. I bought 3 pairs of maternity pants, a shirt and a super cute dress. I wore the maternity jeans this week and they are pretty comfy.

Gender: Still boy parts

Movement: He moves quite a bit during the day and yesterday I could actually see his kicks on the outside of my belly which was weird and exciting.

What I miss: Not spending so much time in the bathroom

Sleep: Hit and Miss. Last night was pretty good.

Symptoms: It's getting really hard to bend over, putting on pants in the morning is becoming quite the effort.

Cravings: Sweet Tea!

Best Moment this week: Reaching what a lot of doctor's consider the point of viability. If baby boy were to be born now there is a chance he could survive outside the womb. Though I prefer to keep him baking for another 13 weeks at least.

What I am looking forward to: Doing more work on the nursery, we still have a LOT to get done and time seems to be flying by!

Not feeling it

2011-09-07T10:10:00.000-04:00

I'm in such a foul mood, between this weather and never-ending rain (I know I shouldn't complain especially given the situation in Texas) and the ridiculous traffic I've had to sit in the last two days thanks to school being back in session I'm just not really feeling it right now. My commute is already an hour each way so tacking another 15-30 minutes on top of that because people apparently forgot how to drive over the summer really irks me. And Yes I realize these downpours aren't helping. Sigh.

Even Kristian was in a foul mood last night and despite the fact that he had been gone for almost a week we still ended up bickering while watching the news and debating over every news story. I swear if I had tried to tell him the sky was blue he would have insisted it was brown.

Fortunately, we've made up and agreed and we were both being lame. Hopefully the rest of this week will go quickly so we can spend some quality time together this weekend and my mood will pick back up.

23 Weeks

2011-08-31T15:04:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 23 weeks

*I had a vendor come in yesterday and tell me that I look like I'm due sooner than December. Thanks buddy*

*I meant to post this early last week but got sick. These are weeks 19-21 and I'm even bigger now*

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the size of a large mango.

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +10-11 pounds. I started out at 103-105 and now I'm around 114-116 depending on if I weigh myself in the morning or at night.

Maternity Clothes: I got my order from Old Navy and I love all the shirts, they fit great and are super comfy. Hopefully they will last until the end of the pregnancy. Below are pictures of the tops I bought.

I also bought some black leggings which I suspect I'll be spending a LOT of time in.

Gender: Team Blue!

Movement: He's quite the mover and shaker in there and his kicks are getting more prominent on the outside as well.

What I miss: My husband, he's leaving today to go fishing for the next 5 days at the beach with his buddies. Something about being pregnant makes me more clingy to him.

Sleep: Better than last week.

Symptoms: backaches and breakouts and the skin on my tummy feeling tighter and tighter

Cravings: Hershey chocolate bars. I had a craving Sunday night and Kristian went out to buy me one and this is what he came home with. He said he wanted to be prepared with all options. haha

Best Moment this week: Getting a healthy heart report at my echo cardiogram ultrasound!

What I am looking forward to: Going shopping this weekend, hoping to find a cute dress for my baby shower in Oct.

Worth Every Penny

2011-08-30T10:13:00.000-04:00

So here's the thing, I'm a pretty ~~cheap~~ frugal person by nature. I hate spending a lot of money for things I know I can buy for less elsewhere or for services I know I could do myself. There have been exceptions to this however, for example, when we moved and hired professional movers. BEST. DECISION. Yes we could have moved ourselves but after hiring professionals I will do whatever I need to in the future to afford that luxury when we move again.

With that said when we first started talking a few weeks ago about hiring a cleaning person to come in maybe once a month I was a bit hesitant. It seemed like a waste of money, after all, we could just clean ourselves. Now let me be clear, we DO clean our house. Obviously we do the day to day type of cleaning to keep the house somewhat presentable. The problem is that we've gotten really bad about keeping up with the deep cleaning i.e. mopping, washing windows, dusting those hard to reach spots. etc.

We moved into the house at the end of February and I got pregnant at the beginning of April and spent most of my first trimester feeling horrible and now I have little pockets of energy that leave as quickly as they come, so for me, trying to keep up with this has been impossible. And even though Kristian is actually REALLY good at that kind of cleaning (I definitely am not) he's typically busy doing more handy-man/physical labor type of projects around the house. Call me crazy but after he replaces all the deck railing single-handedly I feel bad asking him to mop the kitchen floor.

So we decided to bite the bullet and hire someone. We hired the wife of one of the guys Kristian works with and she actually cleans their office as well. It was important we had someone we knew and trusted since they would be cleaning while we weren't home.

Yesterday was her first day and I have to say I was super impressed when I got home. Granted I've never hired a professional to come clean my house so maybe I had low expectations but she went above and beyond and did things we didn't ask or expect her to do. She even cleaned the cat litter box (which we didn't ask her to do)! Kristian said that alone made her worth the money.

Obviously I expected her to do the basics; vacuum, mop, dust etc. but the whole night I kept finding little surprises of things she had cleaned or organized that I didn't anticipate. It was awesome. Below are a few pictures of some of the fun surprises.

She vacuumed our couch! Look at those lines. I didn't even want to sit on the couch when I got home and mess it up.

In Moxie's crate we keep a towel (in case she has an accident) and a soft blanket which are both usually crumpled up and she folded them neatly. I know Moxie was happy.

And by far my favorite surprise, in all of the bathrooms she folded the end of our toilet paper, hotel style. It really is the little things that make me happy!

So even though we ultimately could have done all of this cleaning ourselves it was so nice to have someone come in and get it done for us. It's just getting too hard for me to do it and Kristian doesn't have the time on top of everything else he has to do around the house. It's also nice to have a "clean slate" so to be speak which makes it easier to do our daily cleaning. The plan is to have her come every three weeks. I wish we could afford every two weeks but we just can't right now.

Do you/have you ever had a professional cleaning person?

Heart Matters

2011-08-29T15:04:00.000-04:00

This morning I went for another ultrasound for our little man. This time it was a fetal echo cardiogram which we had done because Kristian was born with a heart issue and they wanted to look at the baby's heart a little more closely to make sure he wouldn't have the same/or different problem.

And I'm happy to say that baby boy's heart looked VERY healthy!! They didn't see any issues of concern and everything was measuring and looked normal. I really wasn't very worried since his heart looked great at the anatomy scan but the reassurance from the echo is still amazing to have.

My only disappointment was that I wasn't able to see the rest of him. They immediately zoomed in on the heart and spent the entire time just looking at that, which I figured, however I had hoped maybe they would zoom out at least once and let me have another look at the rest of him. Oh well. The most important thing is that his heart is healthy.

Assuming we don't run into any issues between now and delivery I'm not scheduled for anymore ultrasounds. This could obviously change depending on how he continues to grow (big or small) and if I start to run late. Because of this we have considered going to an elective ultrasound facility around the 30-32 week mark to do a 3D ultra sound just for fun but we'll have to see where our finances stand at that point. It's not something we need but I would love to get a little peek at his face before he gets here. I can't wait to see which features he gets from each of us.

LLP

2011-08-26T10:33:00.000-04:00

I'm finally starting to feel better! Woot Woot. And just in time to spend my entire weekend in my house (where I've spent all week) due to that bitch named Irene that is gunning for us. An Earthquake and Hurricane in the same week. Mother Nature is not a fan of us East Coasters right now.

On a happier note I wanted to give you all a heads up about a fabulous deal being offered from an even more fabulous person. My girl Kristen who is the brains/beauty/talent behind Little Laws Prints- custom stationery, invitations, party decor, and prints- has a great deal going on this weekend. 15% off now through Sunday on all stationery including custom orders. Blog friends take 10% off all orders with the coupon code "blogger" at checkout.

I've gotten a few of Kristen's products and they are top notch. And she is very kindly designing the invites and other party goodies for my upcoming baby shower. It's all a surprise but I know it's going to kick ass and can't wait to see what she comes up with.

So for you East Coasters especially who will probably be locked inside most of the weekend, have some fun shopping on LLP's site.

22 Weeks

2011-08-25T12:42:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 22 weeks

No picture this week. I've been sick all week and the last thing I need is a picture of myself right now.

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the length of a spaghetti squash (whatever the hell that is)

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +9 pounds. I went to the doctor's again today because of my cold/rash and they weighed me and I noticed I weighed less than last week, I guess due to being sick all week and not having much of an appetite.

Maternity Clothes: I finally broke down and ordered some maternity tops from Old Navy last week. They haven't arrived yet. At least I'm a small again in maternity wear.

Gender: Team Blue!

Movement: He's been moving a lot more and I can feel him pretty well on the outside. Feeling him move has been comforting all week since I've been sick and worried about how it's affecting him.

What I miss: being able to breathe through my nose...damn cold!

Sleep: Terrible this week but due to my massive head cold rather than the pregnancy. I feel like a zombie.

Symptoms: No real pregnancy symptoms, too busy feeling horrible from my head cold.

Cravings: liquids, not really hungry but very thirsty.

Best Moment this week: Going to the doctor today and hearing the heartbeat and getting reassurance that the funk I've had all week doesn't seem to have affected the baby.

What I am looking forward to: Seeing the little guy on my next ultrasound on Monday.

The Yucks

2011-08-24T10:43:00.000-04:00

So I briefly mentioned yesterday that I was home sick, well I'm still home sick again today. Over the weekend Kristian came down with a really nasty head cold which he then lovingly passed on to me. Starting Monday night I felt like a truck had hit me. Massive nasal/head congestion, sneezing, coughing you name it. Of course I'm not allowed to take any of the medicine we had in the house so I spent the entire night on Monday on the couch watching HGTV because I couldn't breathe through my nose and therefore couldn't sleep. I think I got about an hour of sleep total that night.

I called the doctor yesterday and was told I'm allowed to take Tylenol Cold, Sudafed, Robitussin and nasal spray (but only for like two days). So I bought some Tylenol Cold and nasal spray, the nasal spray seemed to be the only thing that really gave me any relief and thanks to taking it before bed last night I actually slept until around 4am when I woke up again unable to breathe and couldn't go back to sleep. We also did a Neti Pot last night for the first time ever. That thing is weird and didn't seem to help me much.

My plan was to go into work for a couple hours today to get some stuff done and come home, well when I was in the shower I noticed I had a rash on my chest/stomach/back. It doesn't itch or hurt but it freaked me out, obviously I'm having a reaction to something. I called the doc again and was told to take some Benedryl, rest and if it doesn't get better by this afternoon they'll make an appointment for me to come in tomorrow. So now I'm at home, in bed, checking work emails and trying my best to breathe through my nose.

Being sick sucks. Being sick in the summer when it's actually beautiful outside really sucks and being sick when you're pregnant and can't really take much really REALLY sucks. Hopefully I get some relief soon and the little man is doing better in there than I am.

Holy 5.9!!

2011-08-23T14:53:00.000-04:00

Just experienced my very first Earthquake here in Northern VA. Apparently it's clocked in at 5.9 and was felt up to NY and down to NC.

I'm home sick from work today so I was laying on the couch and I felt shaking, at first I thought maybe someone was drilling outside but when it didn't stop I ran and stood in a doorway since that's what they do on t.v. It felt like it lasted forever but I think it was only about 20 seconds. I then went outside where all the neighbors were congregating, freaking out.

Fortunately there doesn't seem to be much damage except for a broken porcelain angel that fell off a shelf. And after 15 minutes of trying to get through on my cell to check on Kristian he texted me that he was okay and actually didn't feel anything while driving.

Very scary and I hope not something I ever have to live through again hence why I won't be moving out to Cali anytime soon!

Did any of you feel the quake??

Like Father Like Son

2011-08-22T11:07:00.000-04:00

Since we're having a little boy my mother-in-law went through her house and actually found a few little outfits that Kristian had as a child. I can't believe she still has this stuff after 30-some years but I'm glad she does. Granted they may not be in style anymore but how cute will it be to put our little guy in some of the same clothes his daddy wore as a baby. See below for the cuteness.

I want to die over these little shorts with suspenders. I can't believe my 6'1" husband was ever able to wear these.

Here's a little sweater with matching hat and mittens that one of Kristian's aunts made for him. This is probably around 12 month size. So perfect for next winter.

Here's another little sweater and hat combo. Also, might fit late next winter. Gotta love the '70s.

We got a few more items but these were the cutest.

Of course our child won't be dressed in all vintage. I've been having the best time buying the little man clothes. And I know, everyone keeps telling me not to buy too many clothes because we'll probably get a ton in gifts but really, can a baby have too many clothes?? I think not! And whoever said having a little boy was cheaper because you won't buy as many cute clothes is wrong, there is so much cuteness out there I can't handle it.

Here are just a couple of the things I've bought so far.

How cute is this little camo, puffer vest?? It's for 12 months so that he can go hunting with daddy next fall.

(no our child won't be hunting at a year old but maybe a little hike in the woods)

This says "Built tough just like daddy". More camo, I know. But on a baby camo is cute, not redneck!

And of course a shout out to me, says "My Mommy Rocks". Yes, Yes I do.

And this last picture isn't clothing related but I couldn't resist posting. Yesterday I was trying to organize all the stuff we have in the nursery and Halpert decided to get into the bassinet my friend Kelli is lending us. I don't think he's gotten the memo that he's no longer the baby of the family anymore!

Suggestions Needed

2011-08-19T10:27:00.000-04:00

I'm putting out a request for any suggestions for potential boy names. The one thing I was dreading about having a boy was picking a name. I knew it wouldn't be easy for us to agree on one and I was right. I think we FINALLY agreed on a middle name, though it's not without some compromise but now the tricky part is the first name. I can't tell you how tempting it is to just have the kid and wait until he's old enough to pick his own name but I think that would make the whole birth certificate deal a bit tricky.

There is one name we do both like and unless we can come up with something else we like better that will probably be the name we go with but I'm just not sure I'm 100% sold on it so I'm open for suggestions.

Here are some things we're considering when it comes to the name:

-We don't want something SUPER popular. I don't want our kid to be one of 5 of the same name in his classes. So anything in the Top 10 baby names is definitely out. Would prefer to say out of the Top 50 if possible.

-We want something not super common but also not really weird or hard to pronounce. Cool and unique but not a WTF kind of name. If that makes sense.

-Trying to stay away from names that end in 'son', 'sen', 'syn' etc. I don't want the first and last names to rhyme. We also are trying to avoid names that start with P since our last name starts with P.

I feel like I've looked at every name imaginable already but maybe I'm missing something. And who knows if we pick your suggestion maybe I'll send you a prize!

21 Weeks

2011-08-18T10:16:00.000-04:00

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 21 weeks

Looks like I'm hiding a soccer ball under there!

I feel like I've grown a LOT over the past two weeks. If I keep up at this pace I'm gonna be HUGE by the end.

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com the baby is about the length of a carrot

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like he's practicing martial arts as his initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to his activity as you get to know him better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +9-10 pounds. At my doctors appointment yesterday he pointed out that my weight has really "jumped" since last time. No shit. I'm growing a human what do you expect. Considering I barely gained any weight the first 4 months I don't feel so bad. ***Note- he wasn't trying to scold me, just pointing that out so I can be aware and hopefully keep my weight in check and not have a 10 pound baby.

Maternity Clothes: still regular clothes, I need a shopping trip SOON though. My belly seems to have grown overnight and I'm afraid the tops I thought would get me through the summer/early fall won't make it another couple weeks.

Gender: Team Blue!

Movement: He's getting more and more active, especially in the mornings and late evenings. Kristian has now been able to feel him move everynight this week which he loves.

What I miss: a good night's sleep and not having to pee constantly.

Sleep: Not great, I still keep getting up multiple times to go to the bathroom and I'm having a harder time getting/staying comfortable.

Symptoms: Backaches, tiredness and lots of movement

Cravings: Vegetable soup.

Best Moment this week: Kristian feeling the baby move! Also, having another good doctor's appointment yesterday and starting our registry.

What I am looking forward to: Painting the nursery, I really want to start this weekend but it may not happen. Also, my shower in Oct. the planning, has finally begun and I can't wait to see my favorite Floridian ;-)